Once Upon a Jigglypuff
by sakikui
Summary: Just a cute story about a girl getting her first Pokemon.
1. Once Upon a Jigglypuff

**A/N: If you know me, you know this is NOT the sort of thing I usually write. I was challenged by a friend to write a "cute" Pokemon story. I decided since I haven't posted much in a while, I'd throw it up here. Working on some major projects, and school just got out, so I'm hoping to have way more time back for fanfiction in the next couple months! :) Anyways, enjoy my Jiggly-fluff!**

* * *

Ten is the most important age in Pokémon world. It is the age when children are given the option to continue their schooling or try to become a Pokémon master. For mothers, this can be a trying time, as two moms are about to discover.

"You're so lucky," said Ricky's mom, "that your daughter hasn't shown an interest in Pokémon battles. Ricky is so smart, but he's been pouring _all_ his energy into Pokémon."

"Kristen is definitely not inclined for battling," said Kristen's mom. "So he has his license?"

"Yes," said Ricky's mom, "but we're not letting him travel beyond Viridian alone until he's much older. Ten years old is an insane age to let your child travel on foot!"

The moms had been best friends forever, and so naturally, their children were forced to know each other and hang out together. Kristen and Ricky could hear their moms talking about them from Ricky's bedroom. They rolled their eyes. Ricky's Growlithe scratched at the closed door and whimpered.

"You were just outside, Growlithe!" Ricky said. Growlithe grumbled in response, and Kristen winced. "I told you there is nothing to be afraid of," said Ricky. "He doesn't even know Flamethrower yet. Ember is barely a spark."

"It's still scary that a puppy can breathe fire," said Kristen. Growlithe wagged his tail and sniffed Kristen's hand. Kristen pet him cautiously. "He's cute, but...deadly."

"Only if you're a weak bug or grass type," said Ricky. "Like a Caterpie or an Oddish." He opened up his Pokédex. "I've caught those." He showed Kristen their filled in Pokédex entries. Ricky always taught Kristen something new about Pokémon. She didn't know much besides which ones she thought were cute. Ricky unfortunately didn't have many posters of her favorite Pokemon in his room, but she did like the poster of Lance from the Elite Four.

"How many have you caught so far?" she asked passively.

"All the common ones," said Ricky. "Caterpie, Oddish, Rattata, Pidgey..."

"Oh, I like Pidgey," said Kristen with a smile. "Can I see it?"

"Oh, I don't have it with me," said Ricky. "I'm focusing on grass and water types to beat Brock."

"Haha, when? Your parents won't let you go beyond Viridian!"

"They'll take me when they see how strong I am!" Ricky boasted. "Hey, let's go to the Pokémon Center. I can show you that Pidgey, and I can show you how we train!"

"Okay!" Kristen agreed. It was way too nice outside to sit in Ricky's smelly boy bedroom while their moms drank wine. So Ricky picked up Growlithe, and they went to ask their mothers. Their moms agreed, and they jumped onto their bikes to ride into the city. Growlithe ran alongside them. The energetic pup had his own ideas of what he wanted to do in the city. He stopped to pee, to dig, and to follow new and exciting scents. Finally, they got to the Pokémon Center.

"Hello!" said Nurse Joy. "Welcome to the Pokémon Center! Would you like me to heal your Pokémon?"

"Not yet, thanks," said Ricky. "I'm here to get some of my Pokémon out of the system." He motioned for his Pokédex, which Kristen was still carrying in her pocket. Ricky showed her how to plug the Pokédex into the digital Pokémon retrieval system. All of his Pokémon appeared on the screen. He indeed had all the common Pokémon of the area, including Spearow which was notoriously difficult for young trainers. He placed a Poke Ball in the transporter and selected Pidgey. The machine whirred, and the Poke Ball disappeared. Oddish replaced Pidgey on the list, and a new Poke Ball appeared. Ricky grabbed the new Poke Ball, and they went outside.

"Pidgey, come out!" Ricky said, and the Poke Ball cracked. A flash of light heralded the coming of the Pokémon. Pidgey cooed and flapped its wings, and then it flew in a circle around the two kids before landing on Ricky's mop of brown hair.

"Awwww!" Kristen exclaimed. "So cute! I mean, I see them all the time, but not up close like this."

"When you catch a Pokémon, the Pokémon automatically learns to recognize you as it's trainer," said Ricky. "Some are harder to control than others, but Pidgey are really friendly. Here." He dug through his bag and found some Pokémon food. "Give this to Pidgey."

Kristen took the morsels, then cautiously held out her hand. Pidgey hopped onto her arm to eat. Its feet felt weird on her skin, and she jumped back in surprise. Pidgey lost balance and flew to her shoulder. "Oh, hello, Pidgey!" she said. Pidgey cooed in response. The little noises Pidgey made warmed her heart, and she fed it the morsels.

"Grrrrrowlithe! Growlithe!" said the puppy Pokémon.

"No, we didn't forget you, Growlithe!" said Ricky. He tossed the pup some treats, and it jumped up to catch them. "Okay, let's battle! Do you remember what attacks Pidgey can do?"

"Ummm," said Kristen, who paid like, zero actual attention when Ricky was teaching her Pokémon moves. She didn't want to battle with these cute little guys! She just wanted to take them home and love them! She looked at the Pidgey. "Fly is one, right?"

"Well...yes, but this Pidgey can't know that," said Ricky.

"What do you mean? I literally JUST saw it fly!"

"Yes, but, the actual MOVE Fly is different. You will want to use Quick Attack and Wing Attack."

"Okay," said Kristen, rolling her eyes. Pokémon moves made no sense! Pidgey can't use Fly? Is the Pidgey dumb, or the humans who named this stuff?

"Alright, Growlithe, let's go!" Ricky exclaimed. "Get ready, Pidgey!" To Kristen's surprise, Pidgey hopped off her shoulder and chirped, ready to go. That cute little bird actually WANTED to fight? But the Growlithe would burn it to a crisp! "Growlithe, use Bite!" Ricky ordeed.

Growlithe ran towards Pidgey and nipped at it. Kristen gasped. Pidgey didn't even have a chance to get out of the way! "Wha...Pidgey! Wing Attack!" she said. Pidgey flew up and then beat its wings against Growlithe.

"Dodge!" said Ricky. Pidgey flew straight into the ground.

"Ugh, stupid!" Kristen said. "Quick Attack!" This time, Pidgey landed a hit. "Haha, okay, now Wing Attack again!"

"Ember!"

"OHHHH MY GOSH SOOOOO CUTE!"

"Huh?" Ricky said, picking up the fainted Pidgey. "How is this...OH GEEEEZ!"

Skipping through a nearby bed of flowers was a pink ball of fur with huge eyes and tiny little cat ears. The Pokémon saw Kristen staring at it and smiled. "Jigglypuff!"

"A Jigglypuff! They're even cuter in person! Ricky, do you have one?"

"Uh, no," he said, and he didn't really want it. Jigglypuff was known as a frivolous Pokémon with little actual battle power. But, he was supposed to catch them all. Maybe he could trade it to some sucker down the line. "HEY, IS THIS SOMEONE'S JIGGLYPUFF?!" he called. Some passersby stopped to look and say "awww," but nobody claimed it. "Okay then. Dibs! Growlithe, use Bite on that Jigglypuff!"

"Ohh, don't hurt it!" Kristen whined. Jigglypuff flinched when Growlithe nipped at it, but then Jigglypuff got right back up and smacked Growlithe a few times. Growlithe shook his head to try to get his bearings back.

"Alright, now Ember!" Ricky said. Afterwards, he could surely try to catch it. However, before Growlithe could fire, Jigglypuff was running down the street. "Oh, no! No Pokémon runs from me! Growlithe, follow that Jigglypuff!"

Jigglypuff bounced through the crowds with Growlithe in tow. The two kids got on their bikes, but they weren't as fast as the Pokémon, and dodging people was much more difficult. They ended up on the other side of the town by the abandoned gym.

"There!" Kristen cried. The pink blob was bouncing towards the forest.

"Where's Growlithe?" Ricky asked. He had Growlithe's Poke Ball ready, as the kids weren't allowed in the forest. They'd have to give up on this Jigglypuff. Growlithe appeared around the corner of the gym, sniffing the ground. He picked up on Jigglypuff's scent and barked, then bolted to the forest. "GROWLITHE, RETURN!" Ricky shouted, but his Pokémon was out of range, and the red beam missed. Both Jigglypuff and Growlithe ran into the forest.

"AHHH!" the kids cried.

"What do we do?" asked Kristen.

"I'm not leaving Growlithe! Come on! We won't be long, and nobody will have to know!" He started biking to the Viridian forest entrance.

"But Ricky!" Kristen protested. She hated breaking rules, but she agreed they didn't have much choice, so she followed him.

Viridian forest buzzed with life. Kristen even thought she heard a Pikachu call in the distance. The sun peeked through the trees, and the shade was pleasant. "Growlithe! Growlithe!" they called as they hiked through the winding paths. Finally, they heard a bark and a rustle coming towards them. Growlithe appeared.

"Growlithe, you can't just run off like that!" Ricky said, stepping off the red bike to pet his buddy.

A second rustle came from the other side of the path. "Jigglypuff!"

Growlithe growled when the pink Pokémon appeared. "No, Growlithe, this Jigglypuff is a little beyond us today. We need to go home."

"Jigglypuff?" said Jigglypuff.

"Oh, I think it still wants to play!" said Kristen.

"I don't want them to run off again," said Ricky. "But one day, we'll come back to the forest and find Jigglypuff again! Right, Growlithe?"

Growlithe barked in agreement, and Kristen hesitantly pat Jigglypuff on the top of the head. Jigglypuff giggled.

"Those are some cute Pokémon there," came a voice. Kristen and Ricky looked up to see an older boy coming down the path. He had red hair and wore a backwards red cap. "Care for a battle?"

"Oh, this isn't my—" Kristen started, but Ricky said, "OF COURSE!"

_So much for getting home_, Kristen thought.

"Great!" said the boy. "I'm Braden, the Battle Kid of Pewter City! I just got this awesome new Pokémon, and we are challenging EVERYONE!"

"Well, then I'm glad we were here! What are the terms of the battle?" said Ricky.

"My one Pokémon versus both of you," said Braden.

"But I'm not—" Kristen started.

"Sounds great!" said Ricky.

_We are so dead! _Kristen thought.

"Meet my Pokémon!" Braden announced. "Come out...DRATINI!"

Kristen and Ricky gasped. The most sought-after Pokémon in all of Kanto, Dratini, materialized.

"Ok, buddy, this will be a challenge! Growlithe, go!" said Ricky. Growlithe leaped forward at the ready. And, without any prompting, Jigglypuff did the same.

"Good," said Braden. "Dratini, Dragon Tail!"

"WHAAAAAT!" Ricky cried as Dratini's tail swept past his Pokemon. Growlithe fainted. "What level is your Dratini?"

"What level is your Jigglypuff?" Braden asked. Kristen and Ricky shifted their focus from Growlithe to Jigglypuff, who was still standing despite also being smacked.

They had no idea, but they remembered the general rule that fairy Pokémon were not damaged much by dragon Pokemon. Jigglypuff looked at Kristen.

"It wants you to call an attack," said Ricky.

Kristen sucked at Pokémon moves, but she knew one thing Jigglypuff was supposed to be able to do. "Sing?" she asked.

Jigglypuff began to sing to Dratini. "Ha, Sing, classic," scoffed Braden. "Such tactics won't work with us!"

Yet, Dratini fell into a slumber. "Okay, Jigglypuff, Quick Attack!"

"Try Pound," said Ricky.

Jigglypuff didn't seem to know Quick Attack. It was still staring at Kristen. "Okay, Pound!"

Jigglypuff slammed its body into Dratini. Dratini blew backwards into Braden. "Jiggly!" the pink Pokémon said happily.

"As soon as Dratini wakes up, this is over," Braden warned. "I'll let you have your fun for now."

"Try Double Slap too," said Ricky. "I'm pretty sure that's what it used earlier on Growlithe."

"Okay, Jigglypuff, Double Slap!" said Kristen. Jigglypuff began repeatedly hitting Dratini. "Keep it coming, Jigglypuff!"

"Alright, play time's over," said Braden. He sprayed an Awakening on Dratini. "Dratini, Dragon Tail!"

"DODGE IT!" Kristen cried. Jigglypuff jumped over Dratini, avoiding the move. "Follow it up with Pound!"

Jigglypuff sent Dratini flying in another direction.

"Dratini, Dragon Tail again!" said Braden.

"Dodge and Sing!"

"There's no way that'll work a...AHHHHHHHHH!" Braden cried as Dratini fell asleep again.

"Looks like you only rely on one move," said Ricky. "Your Dratini really isn't well trained at all." _And this Jigglypuff probably has perfect IVs_, he thought.

"I've never had to use another move before!" Braden admitted.

"Jigglypuff, Double Slap!" Kristen said with a laugh.

But Dratini has woken up again. "Dragon—"

Jigglypuff whacked Dratini on the head, and he fell. Braden cried out in indignant disgust. "You just got lucky," he said. "You won't win again!" He dug into his bag and pulled out a Revive.

"No!" Ricky and Kristen said together.

"Look at Dratini! It's scared!" said Kristen. Indeed, Dratini was shivering from the shock of having been beaten so badly.

"You need to challenge trainers on your level so your Dratini can grow," said Ricky, "instead of one-hitting kids in Viridian forest. That's not a battle at all, and it's not good for Dratini."

"Battling is kind of fun when you know what you're doing," said Kristen. "You liked that, didn't you, Jigglypuff?"

"Puff! Jigglypuff!" Kristen and Jigglypuff high-fived.

Braden picked up his Dratini. "Alright. I will accept defeat...for now." He walked away, but looked back once more at Kristen and Jigglypuff. He nodded, then left.

"Oh no," said Ricky. "Our moms are going to be furious! The sun is going down!"

"WHAT!? Oh no, we never should have battled that jerk!" Kristen exclaimed. She hadn't noticed it getting chillier because the battle had been so exciting. "Come on, Jigglypuff!" She mounted her purple bike. "Oh, wait...Jigglypuff is still a wild Pokémon, isn't it?" They looked at Jigglypuff, who cocked its head in question. Ricky handed her a Poke Ball. "But, I don't have a license," she said.

"The Poke Ball doesn't know that," said Ricky. "It'll work for you. I think Jigglypuff wants to be caught now."

She took the Poke Ball. "Do you want to be my Pokémon, Jigglypuff?"

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff nodded.

"Alright, here goes nothing! Poke Ball, go!"

* * *

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WENT INTO THE FOREST!" shouted Kristen's mom. The once cozy living room now seemed cold and imposing. The moon was visible through the front window. Kristen and Ricky sat together on the couch while their mothers reamed them.

"We didn't mean to!" said Ricky.

"HOW DO YOU JUST ACCIDENTALLY GO INTO THE FOREST?!" Ricky's mom asked.

"Growlithe was chasing a Jigglypuff-"

"And we had to get him back-"

"Then we ran into this really mean trainer who challenged us to a battle-"

"And Ricky accepted-"

"And Kristen won-"

"Wait, hold on," said Kristen's mom. "You won?"

"Yeah, also, I have a Jigglypuff now," said Kristen.

"YOU CAUGHT A POKEMON WITHOUT A LICENSE?!" Kristen's mom shouted. Kristen let Jigglypuff out of the Poke Ball. "Oh," her mom said. "That's really cute."

Jigglypuff waved to the two angry mothers. "Jiggly!"

"I didn't mean to," said Kristen. "But I battled with Jigglypuff, and, it wanted to come with me, and, I couldn't just leave it in the woods!" Kristen started crying.

"She was a really good battler," said Ricky. "She learned so fast."

"Well, I mean, he kinda told me what to say," said Kristen.

Kristen's mom sighed. "Well, what do we do now?" she asked Ricky's mom.

Ricky's dad walked into the room where the children were being scolded. Ricky looked so much like his dad, except for his dad was bald, and Ricky had more hair than he probably should. Likewise, Kristen and her mom were nearly identical, with pale skin and stick straight brown hair.

"We keep the Jigglypuff here," Ricky's dad said, "and tomorrow, you go to the Pokemon Center and get that little girl a license." He handed Kristen and Ricky a plate of cookies, and the moms new glasses of wine.

* * *

Kristen got her Pokemon license the next day, and she and Ricky went Pokemon hunting together. They were even allowed to go into the woods sometimes. And one day, they planned to go take on the Pewter gym together, with their best friends Growlithe and Jigglypuff at their side.


	2. The Professor's Intern

**A/N: So my friend and I both decided to keep writing our Pokemon stories! Follow for more Pokemon fluff! :)**

Following their triumph in Pewter City, Kristen and Ricky traveled to Cerulean for their second gym battle, but the absence of the Cerulean gym leaders sent their adventure in a slightly different direction...

"Gym closed!? The sisters are on vacation!?" Ricky shouted in disbelief as he read the sign. He let out an exasperated grown.

"So we walked all the way here for nothing?" Kristen asked. "Ugh, that shouldn't be allowed! Now what are we going to do?"

"Well," said Ricky, "I suppose we can explore the area around here. Maybe catch some new Pokemon!"

"Yeah," Kristen said reluctantly, "but when are they coming back? We can't stay all _that _long. Our parents are expecting us back next week!"

"Well, I'm not missing this opportunity at least to explore a new area and catch some new Pokemon. Let's go to the Pokemon Center and see if anyone knows when the sisters are coming back," said Ricky.

"Good idea," Kristen agreed. "We need to give our Pokemon to Nurse Joy anyways."

They went from the gym to the nearby Pokemon Center and turned in their Pokemon to Nurse Joy. In addition to Growlithe, Ricky's team now included Mankey and Gloom. The team of fighting and grass had been super effective against Brock's rock type Pokemon. Kristen had primarily used her new Poliwag in the battle against Brock.

Another kid about their age followed them into the Pokemon Center. He had large glasses and curly brown hair. A Slowpoke sat on his shoulders, which prompted the typical response from Kristen:

"Ohhh, what a cute Pokemon!"

Ricky rolled his eyes. Slowpoke was, he had to admit, a pretty good Pokemon. Its evolutions were known to be solid in battle.

"Well, thank you," said the boy. "What are you packin'?"

"Hm?" Kristen asked.

"Your Pokemon. What's your team?" asked the boy.

"Oh," said Kristen. "We just gave them to Joy. It's Jigglypuff, Poliwag, Pikachu, Nidoran, Bellsprout, and Pidgey."

"Very nice," said the boy. "We should battle when they're healed."

"That'd be great!" Kristen beamed. "I'm sure Ricky will want to battle too."

"Yeah, but I'm not telling you my Pokemon like she just did," Ricky said.

"Fair enough," said the boy. "I didn't mean anything by it. Just curious is all. Most kids our age have similar Pokemon. You've definitely got some of the better ones. I don't see Jigglypuff come through here much."

"Jigglypuff is special," Kristen agreed.

Joy came out of the back room. "Your Pokemon will be ready soon. They're just a little bit tired. You must have just come through Mt. Moon."

"Yes, we did," said Ricky.

"Mt. Moon!" the boy exclaimed. "Say, did you find a Moon Stone in there?"

"I did!" Kristen beamed. "I want to use it on Jigglypuff one day. But I figure it's too early now. She needs to learn all of her regular Jigglypuff moves first."

"Smart!" the boy replied.

"Oh, hello, Jacob," said Nurse Joy. "You must be here to pick up that medicine for Bill."

"Yes, ma'am," said Jacob. The Chansey came to the front and waved to Jacob. "Oh, hello, Chansey! And how are you today?"

"Chansey! Chansey!" the Chansey replied.

"Awwww," Kristen gushed. "You must be really good with your Pokemon!"

Jacob blushed. "I'm alright I guess. They're just such fascinating creatures! That's why I'm interning under Bill."

"Bill? Who's Bill?" asked Kristen.

"Who's Bill?!" Ricky interjected. "Bill's the guy who created the whole Pokemon storage system. He's a genius!"

"Woah, really?" Kristen asked.

"Yep, that's the one!" Jacob said. "I hope to follow in his footsteps one day."

"I didn't know that Bill took interns," said Ricky. "That's really neat."

"Well, hey, do you want to meet him?" asked Jacob.

"Do we? Of course we do!" Ricky said.

"I'm hungry," said Kristen.

"We'll eat later," said Ricky. "Not like we can go to the gym anyways."

"Oh, hehe, yeah," said Jacob. "The sisters run off a lot, but I think they're coming back soon." Joy handed Jacob a brown paper bag. "Thank you, thank you!" Jacob said. "It's a bit of a walk to Bill's lighthouse," he said to Ricky and Kristen.

"That's okay," said Ricky. "We've got nothing better to do. Literally, I can't imagine anything better!"

"Well, great!" said Jacob. "Let's go!"

"Slowwwww…"

Jacob lead Ricky and Kristen over a bridge and into a wooded area north of Cerulean. They heard Psyduck and Venonat in the brush, but they weren't looking to catch new Pokemon now, especially since they hadn't waited to pick up their A team before following Jacob. Finally, they came to a clearing, and that clearing opened up to a beautiful little seaside garden. In the distance was a beach with a shiny white and black lighthouse.

"This land," said Jacob as they walked along, "is all Bill's. These bushes are all growing berries that have different effects on Pokemon. Some of them are quite rare."

"Wow," said Ricky, "could we maybe get some for the road?"

"I mean, I'll have to ask Bill, but I don't see why not," said Jacob.

A Doduo ran in front of them, and then they came to a group of Bulbasaur in a bed of flowers. "So cute! Are these all Bill's Pokemon?" asked Kristen.

"He's experimenting with different lures," said Jacob. "I'm sure he can give your more of a tour later if you want. But first, let's see what he's up to."

They made it to the Lighthouse. Jacob opened the door and lead them inside. They had to go up a few winding staircases to Bill's main lab. It reminded Kristen of Professor Oak's lab if Professor Oak were a hoarder. There were boxes with weird labels stacked everywhere among the strange equipment. "Hiya, Bill! I got the medicine you wanted."

Bill was wearing a hat with a bunch of tools stuck to it. His glasses made his eyes look huge. "Well, hello there! Who are these fine young people?" Bill asked.

"This is Ricky and Kristen. They were in the Pokemon Center when I was picking up the medicine, and they wanted to meet you," said Jacob. "I hope that's okay."

"Well, sure it is!" Bill exclaimed.

"Mr. Bill, oh my gosh, I have, literally, a million questions!" Ricky gushed.

Bill sat down and pulled up chairs for the other kids. As Ricky grilled Bill about his Pokemon storage system, Kristen's mind wandered. Jacob took Slowpoke off his shoulders and fed it a berry.

"Where'd you catch your Slowpoke?" Kristen asked.

"I found him a little south of here, along the shore," said Jacob. "I grew up in Lavender Town. Where are you from?"

"Ricky and I are from Viridian," said Kristen.

"Is that gym still abandoned?" Jacob asked.

"It is," said Kristen. "Nobody knows what's going on. The leader just up and left one day."

"Man, someone else needs to just step up and take it over," said Jacob. "You guys are collecting gym badges?"

"Mmmhmmm," said Kristen. "We beat Brock. What about you?"

"I've been itching to start," said Jacob, "but then I was offered this internship, and well, you can't really pass a thing like that up. There's a shortage of people who know about Pokemon technology enough to, you know, fix things that are broken. So that's what I'm going to do one day."

"That's great," said Kristen. "Pokemon technology amazes me. The way you can take a living thing and digitize it...it's crazy!"

"That's not all we can do," said Jacob. "Bill's got a lot of stuff in the works. Come on," he said, getting out of the chair. "I want to show you something, but it's top secret." Kristen looked nervously at Bill and Ricky, who were engaged in a really technical conversation about Poke Balls. She grinned and got out of her seat after Jacob. Jacob was fumbling through some vials on a dusty shelf behind a pile of boxes. "Here it is," said Jacob. The liquid was pink and bubbly.

"What's it do?" Kristen asked.

"Bill calls it 'gigantification serum,'" said Jacob. "Not the best name. Basically, it would make your Pokemon really huge!"

"BAHA! Really? Why would you do that?" Kristen asked.

"I don't know!" Jacob exclaimed. "But it sounds like so much fun!"

"I know!" Kristen squealed. She imagined her Jigglypuff towering above Ricky's Growlithe.

"We've already done some tests," said Jacob, "with mixed results. Check out these pictures!" Jacob opened up the top box and pulled out a heavy binder. As he did so, the vial fell. Jacob and Kristen screamed.

"Something wrong back there?" Bill asked.

The vial was resting unharmed on Slowpoke's back. "No!" Jacob called. "I'm just showing Kristen some pictures of Pokemon we've worked with!"

"Okey-dokey," said Bill.

"Slowwwwww..." said Slowpoke. He yawned and laid down, letting the vial roll gently off his back. Slowpoke picked up the vial, bit off the cork, and started to drink. Kristen and Jacob screamed again. Slowpoke burped and looked up at his trainer happily.

"Jacob, are you sure everything is okay?" Bill asked.

"Umm..." said Jacob.

And then Slowpoke started to grow.

"Nooooo," said Jacob. "Professor!"

Bill and Ricky got up and looked in time to see Slowpoke's tail knocking all of the vials off the shelves and nearly crushing Jacob and Kristen.

"THE GIGANTIFICATION SERUM!" Bill yelled.

"The WHAT?!" Ricky exclaimed.

"SlowwwwwWWWWW!" Slowpoke moved his tail enough for Jacob and Kristen to get up.

"I'M SORRY! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" Jacob cried at Bill.

"Okay, okay, we can discuss later! Now we need to beat Slowpoke!" said Bill.

"Beat him? Isn't there an anti-serum?" asked Kristen.

"No," said Bill. "The only way to stop a gigantified Pokemon is to beat it in battle."

"What?! Ah, we don't have our Pokemon!" Ricky cried.

"SLOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Slowpoke's head now hit the ceiling, and his body was threatening to squish the humans.

"Let's get out of here first," said Bill.

They rushed out of the lab into the stairwell. "Poor Slowpoke!" said Kristen. "All that stuff in there could hurt him!"

"Not if I can help it," said Jacob. He dug into his bag and produced some Poke Balls. "This was my fault, and I'm going to fix it! Come on out...Gastly! Psyduck! Oddish!"

"That won't be enough, my boy," said Bill.

"Ugh, we left our Pokemon at the Pokemon center!" Ricky cried.

"That's quite all right," said Bill. He took out a Poke Ball. "Help us out...Gligar!"

"Woah!" Ricky and Kristen gasped at the appearance of a Johto Pokemon. Of course it made sense that Bill would have some more rare Pokemon.

"It's at a disadvantage, but it's all I've got. What do you think, Jacob?" asked Bill.

"Whatever it takes to save Slowpoke," said Jacob.

Bill and Jacob opened the door and ordered their Pokemon to attack. Slowpoke sounded angry. It's typical relaxed "slowwww" cry was growing more raspy and desperate. His Water Gun attack was hitting the smaller Pokemon like a fire hose. "Ugh," said Ricky. "This doesn't look good. Slowpoke is beating them up."

"Well," said Kristen. "This is a little unorthodox, but...We may not have our Pokemon, but we have Poke Balls."

"What, you want to catch Slowpoke?" asked Ricky.

"No," said Kristen. "But there were some cute Bulbasaur out there!"

"Ohhh!" Ricky cried. "Brilliant!"

"You said you wanted more Pokemon, right? So let's go get some!" Kristen said.

"Yes!" Ricky was so excited, he couldn't stand in one place. "Hey, Bill, Jacob, just hold on! We'll be back soon!"

* * *

Slowpoke had destroyed Bill's lab. Jacob and Bill were about spent. Only Bill's Gligar and Jacob's Oddish were left in the battle.

"That is one tough Slowpoke you've got there, Jacob!" said Bill.

Desperately, Jacob took Slowpoke's Poke Ball out of his bag and tried to get Slowpoke to return. It was no use. "Bill, just what is the purpose of the gigantification serum?" he asked.

"It was meant as a battle enhancer," said Bill, "so that small Pokemon can face off against bigger ones at a more even level."

"But small Pokemon have been taking down large ones for years," said Jacob. "What's it really matter?"

"Small Pokemon are more severely injured in battle at a disproportionate rate," said Bill. "I realize it doesn't seem like a good idea now, but all of my work is to help Pokemon. The technology is still young. You know this. And yet you decided to tell a pretty girl you only met today."

"That's...not..." Jacob's face started to burn red. "I just thought giant Pokemon were cool."

Ricky and Kristen arrived back in the stairwell at the entrance of the lab. Slowpoke's head was poking through the door, blocking the inside of the lab. When they were outside, they'd seen Slowpoke's tail bust through the back of the Lighthouse where the main lab was.

"Oh?" asked Bill. Kristen and Ricky threw handfuls of Poke Balls in the air, and a slew of Pokemon appeared: Bulbasaur, Elekid, Doduo, Oddish, Venonat, Krabby, and Staryu.

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip! Doduo, Fury Attack! Venonat, Stun Spore! Staryu, Water Gun!" Kristen ordered.

"And Elekid, Thunder Shock! Oddish, Absorb! Krabby, Vice Grip!" Ricky said.

"And keep it coming!" they said together.

Slowpoke's face was in shock as the attacks came one after another. "Well, this is something! Gligar, how about an Aerial Ace?" said Bill. Gligar sprung into action.

"And, Oddish, give us a Razor Leaf!" Jacob declared. The loyal vegetable Pokemon obeyed.

"SLOWWWwwwwww...!" Slowpoke wailed as his fighting spirit escaped him. Jacob's beloved Pokemon began to shrink. Its tail slid back inside the room from the hole it had made, and his back no longer hit the ceiling. They saw his legs retract back inside the room through holes in the floor. His body retracted back to its usual size. "Slow?" The poor confused creature ran as fast as a Slowpoke can run back to Jacob's arms.

"I'm so sorry!" Jacob said. "I'll never let anything bad happen to you again, Slowpoke!"

"Well, well, well," said Bill to Ricky and Kristen. "Where did these fine Pokemon come from?"

"Ummm," said Kristen, diverting her eyes.

"It's okay," said Bill. "If it weren't for your quick thinking, Slowpoke would have caused a lot more damage. They're your Pokemon now! Treat them well!" Ricky and Kristen gasped in joy at having acquired so many new Pokemon so quickly. Bill turned back to Jacob. "And as for you, young man!"

"I know, I know," said Jacob. "I'll clean it all up as soon as I can."

Bill nodded. "But first, I think you should take Slowpoke to the Pokemon Center. And while you're out there, see if the sisters have returned to the Cerulean Gym. I don't know why you haven't challenged it yet."

"You really think I should?" Jacob asked.

"Of course! You have your whole life to work and learn about gadgets. Now is the time to go on adventures with your friends!" Bill exclaimed.

"But I don't have any-" Jacob started.

"Yeah, come with us!" Ricky interjected.

"I mean, we still have to go home and check in with our parents from time to time. But Ricky and I are going to all the gyms in Kanto together! And we could use someone who knows stuff like you do!" Kristen said.

"Oh, wow. I don't know what to say," said Jacob.

"Say yes," said Bill.

"Well, I can't argue with the greatest mind of our time. Sure thing!" Jacob beamed.

* * *

Kristen and Ricky learned many things from their new friend Jacob during their stay in Cerulean city. Unfortunately, the sisters didn't return in time for them to challenge the gym this time, but they all agreed that they had found something more valuable than a gym victory in Cerulean: a new friend!


	3. Beginning Battle Tactics

Kristen and Ricky returned to Cerulean city a month later to challenge the Cerulean gym. Ricky easily defeated Misty with the use of his Elekid. Kristen then mimicked his strategy with her Pikachu.

"I choose you...STARMIE!" Misty cried, throwing out her final Pokemon. Kristen's Pikachu was doing okay, but he had taken some hits from Misty's Golduck before his Spark attack put the duck Pokemon out of commission. Kristen was unsure how much health her Pikachu had left. "Starmie, start us off with a Water Gun!" Misty ordered.

"Use Spark, Pikachu!" Kristen countered. The two attacks met, and at first it looked like they had cancelled each other out, but then the Spark hit Starmie.

Misty scowled. "Okay, Starmie, use Harden!"

Kristen smiled. She'd already learned to recognize moves such as "Harden" to be a stalling tactic, merely delaying the inevitable. Misty had used the same tactic against Ricky. "Pikachu, give it another Spark!"

Pikachu gave it the best Spark she'd ever seen. Ricky and Jacob gasped from the stands.

"That wasn't a Spark. It was a Thundershock!" Jacob declared.

Starmie fell, and the referee called the battle in favor of Kristen. Ricky and Jacob got to their feet, cheering. "Alright, Jacob, you're up next!" Ricky said. Kristen collected her badge and returned to the stands with her friends.

"Congratulations," said Jacob. "It seems like your Pikachu gained a lot of levels in that battle!"

"I hope so," said Kristen. "I can't wait to have Raichu! They're so cute! Well, Jacob? Are you ready for your first gym battle?"

Jacob took a deep breath. He reached into his bag and produced a red notebook. "I stayed up all night researching effective strategies against Misty," said Jacob.

"I mean, you've got an Oddish, right? So you can just hit them with leaves," said Kristen with a laugh.

"I could do that," said Jacob. "Or, do I go with another water type, as I will take minimal damage? Or do I use my Gastly, because it's a more rare Pokemon that Misty probably doesn't battle often?"

"Go with your gut," said Ricky. "I don't think you can make a wrong choice, honestly."

Jacob sighed again. "Okay," he said. "Let's give it a go!"

Misty waited patiently as Jacob stepped out of the stands and onto the challenger's platform. Her arena was a pool with a few round platforms that Pokemon could stand on. "Who comes to challenge me?" Misty asked.

"I do," said Jacob weakly.

"And who are you?" Misty continued encouragingly.

"Oh! Jacob, of Lavender Town," said Jacob.

"Welcome Jacob of Lavender Town," said Misty. "You are allowed to use two Pokemon in this battle. You may withdraw Pokemon, but I may not. First winner of two matches wins. Do you accept these terms?"

Jacob paused, thinking through what she had said. "Y-yes," he said.

"Then call your first Pokemon," Misty ordered.

Jacob took out his four Poke Balls and thought about each one. Misty gave him a puzzled look...usually kids threw out a grass or electric type and called it good. Maybe he didn't have either? But why hadn't he decided this before? Kristen and Ricky leaned forward in the stands.

"Gastly," said Jacob, finally. "Come on out!"

Kristen and Ricky cheered as Jacob's ghost Pokemon appeared onto the scene. When Gastly hovered near their seats, the tiny hairs on their arms stood up straight. Kristen shuddered, wondering how Jacob could stand having such a disagreeable Pokemon. Ricky, however, sat on the edge of his seat. He hoped his new friend could hook him up with a cool Ghost Pokemon as well!

"All right!" Misty exclaimed, happy to get this battle going and to fight a rare Pokemon. "I choose Staryu!" Staryu materialized directly in the pool, floating just at the surface. "Alright, Staryu, let's get this started with a Water Gun!" she ordered. Staryu aimed its gem at Gastly and shot a beam of water at the ghost, who recoiled.

Jacob cringed. "Ummm...let's see...Gastly..."

Misty, despite herself, paused for Jacob's attack, but it never came. "Uhhh...keep it up, Staryu!"

"Smog, Gastly!" Jacob finally said. Poison gas filled the stadium, obscuring Gastly.

"Good move," said Ricky.

"Still, Gastly took a lot of damage from the Water Gun," said Kristen. "Why'd he wait so long to call that attack?"

"He's overthinking everything. He has been spending so much time analyzing, he forgot that speed and thinking on your feet is just as important in a real battle," said Ricky.

"It's not just important, it's everything! Why doesn't he have Gastly dodge the Water Guns?" Kristen asked.

Soon, as Kristen predicted, the Water Gun onslaught caught up to Jacob's Gastly, and the Ghost Pokemon fainted. Ricky hung his head in disappointment.

"Oh no," said Jacob.

"You've gotta trust your Pokemon!" Misty shouted at Jacob from across the pool.

"Yeah, go for it Jacob!" Kristen exclaimed.

Jacob nodded and looked at his Poke Balls. "For my next Pokemon...I choose..." He stopped.

"Ugh," Kristen said, dropping her head. "Freaking choose Oddish already," she whispered.

"Slowpoke!" Jacob announced. Slowpoke appeared on the platform.

"There's something to be said for using a water Pokemon in a water arena," Ricky said optimistically.

Misty ordered her Stayu to use Water Gun again, hitting Slowpoke between the eyes. "Slowwww," the pink Pokemon complained.

Jacob was deep in thought. Misty was starting to get annoyed. "Tackle, Staryu!" Staryu jumped out of the water and knocked Slowpoke off the platform.

"Do something, Jacob!" Kristen yelled.

"Slowpoke...Yawn," Jacob said.

"What is that?" Kristen asked Ricky in disgust.

"It's a very good move. It will put Staryu to sleep, but the effect takes time," said Ricky.

"He doesn't have time," said Kristen.

"Keep up with the Tackle, Staryu! Finish this!" Misty ordered.

"Slowpoke...ummm...Water Gun," said Jacob.

"That's not going to do nearly enough damage under the water," said Ricky. Jacob seemed to realize his mistake too.

"Uhhh," Jacob said, frustrated. "Slowpoke, Confusion!"

To everyone's amazement, Staryu floated to the top of the water. The referee blew his whistle and hopped off his stand on the opposite side of the gym and swam out to Staryu. "Staryu is asleep," he confirmed.

Jacob burst out in happiness. "Alright! Go, Slowpoke!" Slowpoke pulled himself back up onto the platform and smiled happily at his trainer.

"Not bad," said Misty. Jacob and Misty stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. "Jacob, my Pokemon is sleeping. I'm not allowed to withdraw it," she finally said, trying very hard not to be rude.

"Right," said Jacob. "Oh! Right! Umm, Slowpoke, use Water Gun!"

Slowpoke Water Gunned Staryu until Staryu woke up again. Staryu was clearly exhausted from all the damage building up while she was sleeping. "Go on, Staryu, use Tackle!" Misty ordered.

"Yawn," said Jacob.

"That's unnecessary," Ricky whispered. "Staryu is so wiped out, he could take her easily now."

So while Slowpoke was Yawning, Staryu slammed into her challenger, landing a critical hit. Slowpoke fell over and fainted.

"Slowpoke is unable to battle!" the referee announced after another whistle. "Misty is the winner!"

Jacob looked more exhausted than his Pokemon. He recalled Slowpoke to his Poke Ball sadly. Ricky and Kristen mustered some encouraging clapping, but it just felt sad. Jacob _should _have had that battle in the bag! Even Misty knew it, and she went to console her challenger.

"This was your first time, huh?" Misty asked.

"That obvious?" Jacob attempted to smile.

"Hey, so, your Pokemon trust you," said Misty. "Your friends trust you. You need to trust yourself now!"

"I did so much research!" Jacob burst. "Ugh, I just don't know! I should just go back to the lab where I belong!" And so Jacob rushed out of the gym to the Pokemon Center without even waiting for Kristen and Ricky.

* * *

Jacob sadly turned in his Pokemon to Nurse Joy. "Oh no," said Joy sympathetically. "What happened?"

"Don't ask," Jacob said. Joy handed the Poke Balls to Chansey, who squealed when she saw her friend Jacob. But Jacob didn't say hi to Chansey. He went to sit in the cafe. When Kristen and Ricky caught up, Jacob had a giant burrito and plate of fries in front of him, with a root beer float and cupcake on the side.

"Woah," said Ricky.

"Don't," said Jacob.

"I just meant this feast in front of you," said Ricky.

"Hey, what happened in there?" Kristen asked.

"It doesn't matter," said Jacob. "Guys, it's been fun, but I think I definitely should go back to the lab."

"What? No!" Ricky cried.

"You would have won if you'd only called more attacks faster," said Kristen.

"Right," said Ricky. "Your moves made sense most of the time. There were just...so few of them."

"It's hard for me," said Jacob. "There's just so many things to take into consideration, and I don't know how you do it so fast."

"I just wing it," said Kristen.

Jacob looked at Kristen helplessly, and she realized she was not helping. Ricky was distracted by someone who had just walked into the cafe. Jigglypuff scowled and expanded its body with a "puff!", but Ricky was grinning. "Hey, Jacob, watch this," said Ricky. "YO, BRADEN! HOW MANY BADGES DO YOU GOT?"

"Braden? Oh no!" Kristen exclaimed. The boy from the forest was here? Sure enough, a red-headed kid with a red hat and a Dratini wrapped around his shoulders was making a beeline for the ice cream machine.

"Three!" Braden called back as he placed a sundae glass under the ice cream dispenser. "What about you?"

"Two," said Ricky. "Got them both the first try!" Kristen noticed he puffed out his chest slightly as he said it, and she giggled to herself. Boys were so competitive!

"I got all mine on the first try too," said Braden.

"Bet you still can't train for nothing. Let's see," said Ricky.

"You're on!" Braden cried.

"Alright, Jacob, watch me," said Ricky confidently.

Braden strolled over with his sundae, took a fry off Jacob's plate, and dipped it in his ice cream. "Who's the new twerp?" Braden asked.

"This is Jacob," said Ricky. "I'm teaching him how to battle."

Braden laughed. "You? You couldn't beat me the first time!"

"Now I know what I'm dealing with," said Ricky. "I don't give up just because I failed once. Elekid, go!" Ricky's Elekid materialized in the center of the cafe. The other kids around them gasped.

"Guys, is this a good place?" Kristen asked. They ignored her.

Braden sent out his Dratini. Ricky turned to Jacob and said, "Okay, Jacob, so this Dratini is probably way more difficult than Misty. But with dodging and good attacks, I can get him! Elekid, Thunderbolt!"

"Dratini, use Dragon Tail!" Braden countered. Elekid's and Dratini's attacks collided, and Elekid took a pretty powerful hit. Dratini shook off the attack with minimal damage.

"Again, Dratini!"

"Elekid, Light Screen and Toxic!" Ricky said. But it was no use. The Dragon Tail hit, and Elekid was down.

Nurse Joy ran into the cafeteria. "What are you kids thinking? You can't battle here!" she scolded.

"No problem, because this battle is _over_!" Braden taunted. "I told you I was the best! See ya around, twerps!" He picked up Dratini and moved on, whistling.

Ricky hung his head and held out Elekid's Poke Ball. "I was sure I could beat him this time," said Ricky. The defeated Elekid returned.

"Sorry, Nurse Joy," said Kristen. "The boys were being _dumb_."

"You keep them in line!" Nurse Joy said with a wink.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Nurse Joy," said Ricky. Braden walked past her without saying anything. She scowled as he did, and then returned to the front desk.

"That Dratini is something else," said Jacob. "As is that kid. But still, he can't ride on a single strong Pokemon for that long. It'll never fly in the League."

"Next time, can we just ignore him please?" Kristen asked. "But Jacob, did you see how they just called out their attacks, one after another? Ricky even called two at once."

"But how do you know it's right?" Jacob pressed.

"You don't," said Ricky. "But you trust yourself and your Pokemon. The more you battle with your Pokemon, the more you know what their strengths are. You've got this."

It was clear Jacob wasn't so sure and just wanted to eat his feelings.

"You know who I'd like to see again? Bill," said Kristen. "Do you think he'd be okay with us coming over? No playing with serums this time!"

"I don't see why not," said Jacob, seeming to get into better spirits.

* * *

Bill was returning from a research expedition when the kids arrived. He pulled his rowboat onto the beach and removed his Magikarp diving helmet. "Well, well, well, look who's still here!" Bill exclaimed. "Want to play with the Pokemon to Human Transformation Machine?"

"Noooo!" the kids cried together, and then laughed. They sat down in the warm sand.

"How did the fight with Misty go?" Bill asked, sitting with them.

"Not good," said Jacob.

Kristen sighed. "He just couldn't call an attack. He took too long thinking about it."

"Ah, yes, a classic error," said Bill. "But I do hope you will try again."

"You know, I was thinking on the way here...Jacob, you should come back through Pewter with us!" Ricky said. "Your Slowpoke has a huge advantage against Brock!"

"Yeah, that should be an easier battle for you!" Kristen agreed. "Professor Oak's recommended gym order for new trainers is Pewter first, right?"

"Well, Oak's Recommended Order is optimized for people who start in Pallet Town and was based on his personal Pokemon's strengths, but yes, I think Jacob could do very well in Pewter," said Bill.

"Oh, thank you guys so much. But I think I should stay here. The lab is just where I belong," said Jacob.

"What if I told you I needed you to run an errand in Pewter City?" Bill asked.

Jacob eyed him suspiciously. "Do you _really?_"

Bill thought. "Yes, I believe I do. Jacob, as my intern, I order you to go to Pewter City!"

Jacob sighed. "Bill, you didn't see me out there. I stink."

"That's why we're going to train a lot!" Ricky exclaimed.

"Ricky's a really good trainer. He taught me everything I know about battling," said Kristen.

"I reckon if everyone gave up after one loss, we wouldn't have a single trainer in the Indigo League," said Bill. "Very rarely do trainers win a gym battle their first try."

"Yeah, I lost to Brock the first time," said Kristen.

"What?!" Jacob gasped. He looked to Ricky for confirmation, and he nodded.

"To be fair, this was before she caught Poliwag," said Ricky.

"So you used Jigglypuff?" Jacob asked.

"Well, I started with Pikachu," said Kristen, blushing.

"Oof!" Jacob laughed. "How does one make _that _mistake?"

"I didn't understand type matchups at all yet!" Kristen laughed. "Then Ricky made me memorize them all. Now when I see a Pokemon battle, I just see Rock, Paper, Scissors."

"That is an oversimplification, but yes," agreed Bill. "Knowing about type matchups is the first step. Now, young lady, what else would you say you've learned about battling?"

"Well," Kristen thought. "You have to have a balance between defending and attacking. It's important to teach your Pokemon how to dodge attacks, but you can't just dodge the whole time."

"Kristen really likes her offensive moves," said Ricky. "Now, I like to stack the defense early."

"At the end of the day, it's about whose Pokemon faints first," said Kristen, "and you can't faint a Pokemon you aren't attacking. It just makes sense to me."

"Both styles have been successful," said Bill. "Sounds like Jacob needs to find his style." Bill looked at the lighthouse's shadow on the beach. "Oh, look at the time! I hate to cut our visit short, but I really must get this algae into the boiler. Run along now. Meet new Pokemon, battle new trainers, and most importantly-"

"Win!" Kristen finished.

Bill looked at her in shock. "I was going to say, have fun. But your way works too!"

* * *

In much better spirits, the three friends packed up their room at the Pokemon Center and made for Mt. Moon. When night fell, they found a cozy spot in the valley to set up camp. Ricky made a fire, and they roasted marshmallows for s'mores.

"I'm kind of excited to go back to Pewter. It was a nice little town," said Kristen.

"Uh-huh," said Ricky suspiciously.

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "What, do you _not _like Pewter?"

"Oh, the town is fine," said Ricky. "But it's not the town that Kristen is excited about seeing again, am I right?"

"What are you talking about?" Kristen asked.

"I saw the way you were looking at Brock," Ricky teased.

Kristen turned bright red. "Of _course_ I was looking at him! He's the gym leader! You can't battle someone when you're not looking at them!"

"Ohhh!" Jacob said, rolling over. "_Now_ you losing makes sense! You were distracted!"

Ricky closed his eyes. "Hey, Kristen, I'm Brock!"

Kristen fumed, then pulled up her hair into a ponytail. "And if I wore my hair like this, and it was bright red, and I wore a skimpy bathing suit..."

"WHAT?!" Ricky exclaimed. "That's...Misty is..." He sighed. "She's something, isn't she?"

"Knew it!" Kristen cried. "I know you've always had a thing for red heads, Ricky."

"You know who else is a red head?" said Jacob. Kristen and Ricky looked at him, waiting. Jacob grinned. "That Braden jerk!"

"Oh, ewwwww!" Kristen cried. "Gosh, don't say his name like that! He might just..._appear_!"

"You know, it_ is_ weird that he popped up again," said Ricky. "Like he's following us. Or you."

Kristen looked alarmed. "Me? Why would he?...oh...EWWWWWWW!"

"So we've determined that Kristen does not like red heads," said Jacob.

Kristen thought about it. "No, I'd marry Lance."

Jacob laughed nervously. Why did boys have to always get all weird when the topic of marriage came up? "I'm pretty sure that's every girl," he said.

"Ugh, I just realized, that Braden has a Dratini. He's literally trying to be Lance," said Kristen. "Gross."

"Oh my gosh, you're right! What a weirdo," said Ricky.

"How does someone like that _get_ a Dratini?" Jacob asked.

"It had to be a gift," said Ricky. "There's no way he just _found _a Dratini. Is there?"

"It's a slim possibility, but it is a possibility," said Jacob. Then he coughed. "Oh gosh. Is Braden _related _to Lance?"

"Oh ew! I take it back. I don't want to marry Lance if it means getting related to that jerk," said Kristen.

"Oh, thanks a lot, Jacob," said Ricky. "This is going to keep me up at night. Let's talk about something else."

Jacob closed his eyes. "I'm Brock."

Kristen groaned, and Ricky nearly rolled over laughing.

* * *

The three friends arrived at the Pewter City gym right as it opened the next morning. Jacob looked up at it and turned green. Kristen rubbed his shoulder in reassurance. "You've got this," she said.

"Yeah, we've battled every day," said Ricky. "You've done so much better!"

"I was really prepared the last time, too," said Jacob.

"This is a different kind of prepared," said Kristen. "Come on. We're not leaving until you challenge Brock."

Jacob took a deep breath. "Okay," he said.

They opened the doors and entered. Brock's automatic lights illuminated the rocky arena as the kids stepped forward.

"Who comes to challenge me?" Brock's voice boomed.

Ricky and Kristen nudged Jacob. "I-I do," Jacob said.

"Who are you?" Brock asked.

"M...my name is Jacob!" Jacob said, a little more confidently this time. "I come from Lavender Town."

"Welcome, Jacob of Lavender Town, to the Pewter City gym! You may use two Pokemon for this battle. Only the challenger may withdraw Pokemon. Do you accept these terms?" Brock asked.

"Sure," said Jacob.

"Alright then. Let's begin," he said. He stood up on his pedestal. "Your friends can observe from the stands." Then, he looked closer at them. "Oh, hey guys!"

"Hi, Brock!" Kristen and Ricky replied. Ricky nudged Kristen, who was blushing. She slapped him back playfully.

Brock was much less intimidating when he spoke to them. "How you are guys doing? Get any more gym badges?"

"Yeah!" Ricky replied. "We got Cascade Badges!"

"Congratulations!" Brock exclaimed. "I'm really proud of you two!"

Kristen and Ricky whispered final encouragement to Jacob before going to the stands. When everyone was settled, Brock said, "Okay! Jacob, you may choose your first Pokemon!"

Jacob gulped. "I choose Oddish!"

"This must have been a good season for Oddishes. Seems every young trainer has one," said Brock. "Okay! I will choose Geodude!"

Geodude and Oddish regarded each other. "Geodude, Tackle!" Brock exclaimed.

"Aaaaand Oddish, use Razor Leaf!" Jacob said. His attack came a little too late, and Oddish took the Tackle, but Oddish immediately retaliated with the Razor Leaf, and that gave Geodude a nasty scratch. "Absorb!" Jacob said with more gusto.

"Geodude, Defense Curl!" Brock ordered. Oddish's Absorb did minimal damage. "And now, Rollout!" Brock cried.

"Razor Leaf!" Jacob countered. The two attacks hit simultaneously, knocking both Pokemon backwards. Slowly, Oddish got up. Geodude did not.

"Geodude is unable to battle!" Brock's referee cried. "The first round goes to Jacob!"

"WOOHOO!" Kristen and Ricky cried.

Jigglypuff, who always enjoyed a good battle, popped out of her Poke Ball to watch. "JigglyPUFF!"

"Good work," said Brock, recalling his Geodude. "Now, let's see what you do with this! Onix, go!"

Onix towered above everyone in the arena. Jacob bent down to speak to Oddish. "What do you say, Oddish? Do you want to go back in your Poke Ball?"

Oddish shook his leaves. "Oddish!"

"Alrighty, then!" said Jacob. "Oddish, use Absorb!"

"Harden, and then use Bind!" Brock cried.

Using Absorb, Oddish was able to heal itself as Bind damaged it. "Oddish, keep using Absorb!" Jacob said confidently.

"Onix, use Screech!" Brock ordered. Onix screamed as it squeezed Oddish. The sound of the Screech rattled Kristen's bones, and Jigglypuff fell off the bench. Finally, Oddish fainted.

"Oddish is unable to battle!" Brock's referee announced. "Jacob has one more Pokemon to defeat Brock and win the Boulder Badge."

Jacob smiled as he recalled Oddish. He put the Pokemon away, and took out his second Poke Ball. "Alright, you can do it, Slowpoke!"

"Slowwwwww!" the pink Pokemon said upon appearing. Slowpoke looked determined. Kristen noted that Jacob had a similar expression.

"Alright, Onix, use Rock Throw!" Brock cried.

"Water Gun, Slowpoke!" Jacob ordered. The water disintegrated the rocks.

"Alright, Onix, use Bind!" Brock ordered. Onix wrapped his tail around Slowpoke with ease.

"Slowpoke, use Confusion!" Jacob cried.

Slowpoke locked eyes with Onix, and then Onix released Slowpoke. Onix's eyes went vacant.

"Oh no, Onix, snap out of it!" Brock cried.

Onix smacked himself with his tail.

"Why do Pokemon do that when they're confused?" Kristen whispered to Ricky. Ricky shrugged.

"Good job, Slowpoke! Now hit him with Water Gun again!" Jacob cried.

Onix thrashed as the water came at him. "Onix, Harden!" Brock said.

Despite his confusion, Onix was able to obey the order. He continued, however, to attack indiscriminately and hurt himself.

"Keep it up, Slowpoke! You've got him where you want him!" Jacob said.

"Wow, this is a whole new Jacob from what we saw in Cerulean!" Kristen said.

Onix laid down in the center of the arena in defeat. The referee signaled for the Pokemon to stop, and then stepped forward to examine Onix. "Onix...ONIX IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! JACOB IS THE WINNER!"

* * *

They splurged a little on dinner that night by visiting a local family restaurant for burgers, fries, and milkshakes. "Guys, I can't thank you enough," said Jacob. "I don't think I ever would have entered a gym if I hadn't met you."

"It's fun, isn't it?" Kristen asked. "Too bad we can't stick around. We're already going to be late getting home. But we'll let you know when we're going to a gym again, if you want to meet us! I think we agreed on Celadon next."

"Sure thing!" said Jacob. "And I'll challenge Misty to a rematch in the meantime."

"Make sure you tell us how it goes!" Ricky said.

The milkshakes arrived, and the three friends toasted to their victories.

* * *

Kristen hadn't been home for a whole day before Jacob called to say he'd beaten Misty. She opened her badge case and reflected on the adventures she'd already had, and she couldn't wait to see what Celadon City would bring.

"Plant types," Jacob thought aloud on the phone. "I'll read up on Erika's Pokemon and send you both some notes."

"Jacob, no," said Kristen. "No more overthinking."

"I'm not letting you have another Pikachu vs. Brock moment," said Jacob. "It doesn't hurt to be prepared. I promise I'll keep it to one page."

"Okay," Kristen agreed. Then she looked at her glowing computer. "Actually, you're right. I need to stop just winging it. I'm going to do some research too."

"Sounds like a plan," Jacob said. She could tell he was happy to hear that. "Thank you so much for everything, again."

"And thank you," said Kristen. "You've taught me plenty as well."

"Awww, shucks," said Jacob. "Well, see ya next time!"

"Yeah, see ya!" Kristen said. "Goodbye!" She hung up the phone and moved from her frilly lavender bed to the computer, Jigglypuff was mesmerized the tye-dye maze screensaver.

"Sorry, Jiggly, but we've got training to do!" Kristen declared.

"Jiggly?"

"Those boys are going to run circles around us if we don't start studying and training a lot more," said Kristen. "Ready?"

"Jiggly?" her friend asked again, unsure of where this sudden change in Kristen came from. Jigglypuff sat down on Kristen's lap.

"Where to start?" Kristen asked aloud. She opened her web browser and searched "Jigglypuff." It was something she'd never done before.

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff said happily upon seeing pages of pictures of her species.

"That's right," said Kristen. "You're very cute. But are you tough?"

She flipped off the image screen to the informational screens and her head already started to spin as she scanned the numbers indicating different stats. She sighed and realized this wasn't going to be done in one sitting. Reaching the Indigo League with Jigglypuff was going to be tough, but it would be worth it!


	4. Casino Employees

**A/N: Happy Easter everyone! I hope you are all healthy and safe! I'm going to start putting up more of these. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing!**

* * *

"TWERPS!" came the familiar voice of Braden the Battle Kid of Pewter City.

"Just keep walking," Kristen instructed her companions. They were on their way to the Celadon Department Store, a must-visit attraction for anyone traveling through Celadon. Kristen was especially excited to see what the famous mall had to offer.

"Hey," Braden continued. "Hey, twerps! Hey!"

Ricky couldn't help himself any more. "WHAT?!" he cried, turning around to face their rival.

"Rematch," said Braden.

"Why? You do nothing but seek out weaker kids and then take advantage of them," said Ricky. "We're not playing anymore. We only want honorable battles."

"Not you," said Braden. He pointed to Kristen. "Her."

"Jiggly?" Jigglypuff jumped off Kristen's shoulder and puffed out at Braden.

"I see you haven't evolved your Jigglypuff yet," said Braden. "That's a shame. My partner evolved at the last gym."

She gasped. "You have a Dragonair?"

"Kristen, no," said Ricky.

"Dragonair are the most beautiful Pokemon!" Kristen gushed. "I want to see it!"

"Battle me, and I'll show you," said Braden.

"Next to Dragonite, a Dragonair is the most formidable opponent Kanto has to offer. This will not be an easy battle, Kristen, even with Jigglypuff's type advantage," Jacob warned.

"Scared?" Braden teased.

"Of you? Never!" Kristen declared. "Jigglypuff, let's do this!"

"Jiggly!" agreed Jigglypuff. Ricky and Jacob stepped back, holding their breath.

"This isn't going to be good," Ricky whispered to Jacob.

Braden took out his only Poke Ball. "Dragonair, I choose you!"

At the appearance of Dragonair, a bunch of people gathered around. It truly was a sight to behold. Dragonair floated majestically above the street, his tail wagging charmingly. Some onlookers even took pictures.

"Jigglypuff, use Sing!" Kristen ordered.

"Dragonair, Aqua Tail!" Braden countered.

Jigglypuff's song was cut short by an onslaught of water punching her. The pink puff Pokemon flew backwards into Kristen, getting all three of the young trainers wet.

"Slow!" Slowpoke exclaimed happily from Jacob's shoulders, enjoying the free shower.

"Dragon attacks might not work against you, but I've got more tricks up my sleeve now!" Braden boasted.

"Jigglypuff, are you okay?" Kristen asked.

"Jiggly!"

"Okay, Jigglypuff, then let's use Double Slap!"

Jigglypuff rushed at Dragonair with gusto and began slapping the dragon silly. Braden just laughed at the effort. "Dragonair, use Hyper Beam!"

"DODGE IT, KRISTEN!" Ricky yelled.

"Right! Jigglypuff, dodge!" Kristen shouted. But it was too late. The Double Slap attack had brought Jigglypuff too close to Dragonair, and Jigglypuff took a direct hit. She fell deflated on the ground. "Oh no! Jigglypuff!" Kristen exclaimed, picking up her friend.

"She's out cold," said Jacob. "Let's go to the Pokemon Center immediately!"

"As I recall, Jigglypuff can't learn a fairy attack on it's own," said Braden. "You'll never be able to catch up to me without a real attack advantage. A good Jigglypuff is still a Jigglypuff: a useless, girly Pokemon."

"Ugh, shut up!" Ricky exclaimed. "Fight me!"

"Nah, I'm taking this show to the gym. If anyone else wants to see more of my awesome Dragonair, follow me to the Celadon Gym!" Braden announced. He recalled his Dragonair and left with a small trail of onlookers following.

* * *

Kristen laid on a couch in the Pokemon Center cuddling her Pikachu while waiting for Jigglypuff to be healed. Slowpoke licked her cheek in sympathy.

"Don't feel bad," said Jacob. "That was not a fair fight."

"He got so strong so fast," said Kristen. "He's probably going to be champion in no time. And here we are."

"He saw your Jigglypuff and knew he could win," said Ricky. "That's the only reason he challenged you, and you fell for it."

"We'd been doing so well," said Kristen. "Although, I did notice in our last gym battle, Jigglypuff is not holding up as well as she used to."

"Maybe it's time to evolve," Ricky suggested. "I hate to admit it, but Braden's right. Jigglypuff won't learn a fairy type attack on its own."

"You have that Moon Stone, right?" Jacob asked. "Evolve your Jigglypuff, and then beat that jerk!"

Kristen sat up. "Maybe you're right," said Kristen. She dug into her bag and found the Moon Stone. "Yeah! Jigglypuff _should _evolve! I've already got Nidoran and Weepinbell. It's only natural, right?"

"Pika-pika!"

"Hey, we should stock up on evolutionary stones while we're in Celadon! I hear they have tons!" Ricky said.

"We haven't been to the mall yet," said Kristen. "Let's go!" She placed Pikachu on her shoulder, and Jacob picked up Slowpoke. Jigglypuff would be safe in the care of Nurse Joy. They walked through the huge city to the even huger mall, the Celadon Department Store. Kristen wanted to stop and look at the souvenirs and clothes, but Ricky was on a one-track mind to the Pokemon power-up store. At the front counter, evolutionary stones glittered in a glass case. "Wow, pretty!" Kristen gushed. She looked closer at the prices. "BUT NOT THAT PRETTY!" she gasped.

"Oh, geez," said Ricky. "How do they expect kids to afford those? We're lucky we got you a Moon Stone in Mt. Moon, Kristen." He fumbled through his pockets and pulled out his dad's credit card.

"Ricky, no!" Kristen gasped. "You can't!"

"I just want one. The Fire Stone, for Growlithe," said Ricky.

Kristen gazed at the Thunder Stone and sighed. Ricky's parents were sitting on a considerable amount of money and probably wouldn't bat an eye at the charge, but she knew her own parents wouldn't feel the same. Pikachu would just have to stay Pikachu for now.

"Pika?"

Jacob had torn himself away from the stones and was looking at vitamins. Kristen joined him. "Are these really that effective?" she asked.

"It depends on the brand," said Jacob, reading the bottle of a PP Up. "This place stocks high quality materials, that's for sure." He checked the price, whistled, and put the bottle back. "Perhaps after our gym battle win!"

"Right!" Kristen agreed. "Have you thought about how you're going to beat Erika?"

"It should be a challenge," said Jacob. "Sure, Gloom is also grass type, and poison, which means at the very least he won't take much damage, but he won't deal much either. I think I'm going to lean on Gastly."

Ricky found Kristen and Jacob in the store and held up two bags. "Buy one get one," Ricky said.

"Seriously?" Kristen asked. "Did you get me a Thunder Stone?"

"Oh, shoot," said Ricky, looking apologetically at Pikachu. "I just got two Fire Stones."

"That's awesome," said Kristen sarcastically. "Neither of us has another fire Pokemon."

"Yeah," Ricky blushed. "Well, hey! Maybe we can sell it!"

A shady figure approached them. The young man was tall and skinny and dressed in all black. "You're a bit of a high roller for a kid," said the man.

Ricky stammered. "I mean...my family..."

"Ever think about turning that money into more money?" the man asked.

"It's not really my money," said Ricky. "I'm eleven."

"There's a casino arcade in the center of town," the man said. "You can get rare stuff for half the price, if you're lucky."

Kristen and Pikachu perked up. "Like evolutionary stones?"

"That's right," said the man. "That sweet little Pikachu you've got there could be a big bad Raichu in no time!"

"Ohhh, I love Raichu!" Kristen gushed.

"Hold on," said Ricky. "This doesn't sound legal."

"It's an arcade," said the man. "Nothing illegal about an arcade. Come on, I'll show you there!"

"Ummm, we're busy, but we'll keep that in mind, thanks," said Ricky. The man left. "Ick, I did not like the vibes I got from that guy!"

"Me neither," Kristen agreed. "But still..."

"No, look, just ask your parents for a Thunder Stone for Christmas or something," said Ricky.

"You're right," said Kristen. "Hey, let's go evolve your Growlithe and my Jigglypuff!"

"Yeah! You coming, Jacob?"

Jacob looked forlorn. "I'll catch up to you guys later," he said. "I don't think I'm done shopping."

"Okay," said Kristen. "EVOLUTION TIME!"

"YEAH!" Ricky agreed.

* * *

The pair ran off to the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy flagged Kristen down when they entered. "Your Jigglypuff is all better!"

"Excellent!" Kristen beamed. The familiar Nurse Joy jingle played as Chansey pushed a cart of Poke Balls through the door. Kristen scanned them and picked out Jigglypuff's. "Jigglypuff, come on out!"

"You too, Growlithe!" Ricky announced. Their two starter Pokemon appeared. Growlithe was so excited to be out of the ball that he spun around in a fast circle, then jumped into Ricky's arms, covering his face in licks. "Ah, okay! Good to see you too! Hey, Growlithe, we've been friends for a year now, and you've gotten big and strong! I think it's time for your size to match your strength!"

"Grrrrrrrowlithe!" the puppy barked. Ricky set Growlithe down.

"You too, Jigglypuff! Time to be the amazing fairy Pokemon you were born to be! Erm..._hatched_ to be!" She took out the Moon Stone, and Jigglypuff bounced up and down in alarm.

Ricky put the Fire Stone on the floor, and Growlithe sniffed it, then licked it. The puppy started to glow and grow.

"Here, Jigglypuff," said Kristen, holding out the Moon Stone. Jigglypuff was watching Growlithe evolve in wonder. "Take it, Jigglypuff!"

Jigglypuff looked back at the stone and smacked it out of Kristen's hand. She and Pikachu gasped, and Pikachu jumped off her shoulder to catch the stone. Pikachu carried it to Jigglypuff, talking to her frantically. Pikachu flexed and punched in the air, signalling to Jigglypuff that the stone was a good thing that would make her stronger. But Jigglypuff shook her head and waved her little arms as she replied to Pikachu in a language that only they understood. The Pokemon nodded and turned to Kristen in agreement. Pikachu handed the stone back to Kristen.

"Huh?" Kristen asked. Ricky was rolling around on the ground with his new giant Arcanine. Nurse Joy approached. "Some Pokemon just don't want to evolve," said Joy.

"Why not?" Kristen asked.

"Well, if someone came along and wanted you to be something you didn't want to be, I bet you wouldn't like that very much, would you?" Joy asked.

"Huh," said Kristen. "I never thought of it like that. So, you really just want to be a Jigglypuff forever?"

"Jiggly!"

"But you won't ever be able to beat someone like Braden like this!" Kristen lamented.

"JIGGLY! JIGGLYPUFF!"

"I think your Jigglypuff is saying that she _can_ beat your rivals this way!" Joy said.

"But she can't learn any more attacks, and the ones she knows don't hit very hard against strong Pokemon!" Kristen protested.

"The attacks a Pokemon learn naturally are just the tip of the iceberg. Didn't you know you could _buy _tutors and moves for your Pokemon?" Nurse Joy suggested.

"Huh? Buy moves?" Kristen asked.

"Oh, yeah," said Ricky, who was now sitting on Arcanine. "TMs. You can get them at the Celadon Department Store, right?"

"That's right," said Nurse Joy. "As a normal type, there are a lot of good moves a Jigglypuff can learn."

"Wow, so Jigglypuff and I can decide together! How about that!" Kristen said happily. "Although, that all sounds very expensive."

"Yeah, well, Christmas and birthdays, right? And if we save our gym money," said Ricky. "Hey, you think we should check on Jacob?"

Kristen looked at the clock. "Oh wow, it's been an hour! I doubt he'd need to shop that much, would he? You know..." Kristen's voice got softer. "...I got the impression that Jacob's family doesn't have a lot of money."

"Yeah, me too," said Ricky. "When I mentioned the holidays, he got really depressed all of a sudden."

"Oh," said Kristen sadly. "So then why'd he want to stay in the mall?"

Ricky's face went blank. "He didn't."

"Then where? OH!" Kristen gasped. "The arcade?"

"We need to check on him, now!" Ricky said.

Kristen pocketed the Moon Stone and recalled Pikachu, and then she climbed on Arcanine's back so they could travel to the arcade. The arcade was impossible to miss. It was a purple building in the center of the city with flashing lights lining the roof. The name "ROCKET ARCADE CASINO" was glowing in red above the door. Ricky and Kristen dismounted Arcanine. They could hear the sounds of dinging and buzzing games through the open doors.

Ricky recalled Arcanine, and they entered. There was a crowd of people gathered in the corner, cheering.

"Jacob?!" Kristen called. They started wandering through the rows of games, seeing nothing until they got to the back corner where the crowd was.

"Jiggly Jiggly!" Jigglypuff bounced and pointed. By standing on a chair, Kristen was able to see over the crowd. Jacob was sitting in front of a game called Primeape Kong, and he was racking up the highest score ever recorded!

"WOOHOO!" Kristen called. Ricky pushed his way through the crowd to stand beside Jacob as he played. Jacob was laser focused on the game and the moves he needed to make.

After a few more minutes of play, Jacob lost his last life. The crowd all gasped in disappointment, but coins started spilling out of the machine. Ricky took off his hat to collect them, but soon the hat filled up. Bystanders began to bring over buckets for Jacob to collect his earnings.

The three friends high-fived, and they each carried a bucket of coins to the front counter. "So," said Jacob, "what can I get for this?"

The woman behind the counter was dressed in the same black attire as the man in the mall had been. She sneered at the coins, then pulled out a cardboard box from under the counter. "You can have one item from in here," she said grudgingly.

"WOAH!" the team gasped. It was a collection of rare stuff, most of which Kristen had no idea what it was. Jacob sifted through and then let out a squeal of delight. He pulled out what looked like a really old crown.

"Is that a King's Rock?" Ricky asked.

"Sure is!" Jacob exclaimed. He put the King's Rock on his head. "Thank you thank you!"

The woman emptied the buckets of coins into a giant tub, and she put the cardboard box back under the counter. "Now get out," she said bluntly.

"Ummm, okay," said Jacob. They sulked out of the arcade.

"So, what's the King's Rock do?" Kristen asked.

"It lets Slowpoke evolve into Slowking!" Jacob said. "Among other things. And it looks really cool!"

"That must be super rare! What a strange place!" Kristen remarked.

"Kind of a rip off," said Ricky. "I mean, unless you're a prodigy like Jacob, you probably don't get anything."

"That's true," said Kristen. "But wow! Where'd you learn to do that, Jacob?"

Jacob shrugged. "I've always had good reflexes, I guess."

"Well, we're burning daylight," said Kristen. "What do you say we find some food and then call it a night?"

"Sounds good," said Ricky. "I bet there are great restaurants here."

* * *

They wandered until they found a little barbeque joint. After a hearty meal of pulled pork, onion rings, and of course, milkshakes, they were ready to go back to the Pokemon Center for the night.

The bills arrived, and Ricky reached for his dad's credit card. He fumbled through one pocket, and then the other, and then through the pockets of his jacket. "Uh-oh," said Ricky.

"What's up?" Kristen asked, counting out dollar bills to pay for her food.

"My dad's credit card. I can't find it!"

Kristen let out a small shriek. "We're so dead!"

"Don't panic," said Jacob. "You had it at the mall, right? We'll retrace our steps from there."

"It was that guy!" Ricky exclaimed. "I knew that arcade was shady!"

"Maybe you just dropped it," said Kristen.

"Which is no better," said Jacob, "with all of the people in this city."

"There will be an Officer Jenny here, right? Let's find her," said Kristen.

"You look for Jenny, and I'll go back to the arcade," said Jacob. "I mean, this city can't _all_ be jerks, right? Maybe someone turned it in."

"Ohhhhh my gosh, okay," said Ricky, trying to calm down. "Right. I'll go with Jacob."

"Right," Kristen agreed, putting extra cash on the table to cover Ricky's bill.

The team split up. Ricky let out Arcanine, and they rushed to the arcade. Ricky and Jacob ran inside, not even bothering to put Arcanine back in his Poke Ball. "Hey, miss!" Jacob called to the lady at the counter. "Hey, miss! We might have lost something here. Did anybody turn in-?"

"OUT!" the woman shouted. "You are NOT WELCOME HERE ANYMORE!"

"Huh? Why?" asked Ricky.

"This boy is a cheat!" she said. "He rigged the machine to empty all its coins!"

"WHAT?! NO WAY!" Ricky exclaimed. "You're just mad that he won!"

"SECURITY!" the woman called.

"What? No!"

Two super buff men dressed in black with red R's on their chest approached, picked up the kids, and threw them out. Kristen was walking by as it happened. "Huh?" she asked.

Ricky turned around and pounded on the arcade door, but they had locked it from the inside. "You've got to be kidding me!" Ricky cried.

Jacob sighed. "Evidently this establishment doesn't like to follow through on their promises," he said.

"What a crap town!" Ricky cried. "Any luck finding Jenny?"

"No," said Kristen. "But I found some other help..."

"Oh?"

"TWEEEEERPS!"

"NOOOO!"

Braden floated down to their level on Dragonair. "I found Jenny right after you ran off. She's coming this way. Not that it matters. That card is long gone, and you better call your dad right now." He looked at Ricky and Jacob. "Geez, what happened to you guys?"

"We got kicked out of the arcade," said Ricky, "because Jacob cleaned house."

"Nice!" said Braden. It was the first genuine compliment they'd ever heard from him. "So you think it's in there?"

"I mean, that was the last place we were," said Ricky. "I think someone pick-pocketed me at the mall. Someone who works here."

"I see," said Braden. He dismounted Dragonair and recalled the majestic Pokemon. "Follow me. I know another way in." They watched him suspiciously. Kristen half expected him to order his Dragonair to Hyper Beam down the door, but he walked around the back of the building. There was an employee door being held ajar with a brick on the ground.

"How do you know about this?" Kristen asked.

"Well, it might come as a shock to you, but I grew up in the slums. And slum kids, we know where all the back entrances are," said Braden.

"So you can steal," Kristen clarified.

"Gotta eat," said Braden with a shrug. "Come on."

Following Braden's lead, they just walked right in. There were wooden boxes stacked up along the corridor. It made Kristen feel kind of claustrophobic. Some of them were making noise.

"Woah, hold on," said Kristen. "Are these _Pokemon_?"

"INTRUDERS!" came a voice. A female casino employee drew a Poke Ball and stretched it out, threateningly.

"Woah, hold on," said Braden, also drawing his Poke Ball. "We're just here to inquire about a missing credit card."

"We don't have it," said the woman. "Scram!"

"Well, here goes nothing," said Braden. "Dr-!"

Without warning, Kristen pushed over the tower of boxes beside her. A plethora of Pokemon popped out, scared and confused. Some of them Kristen hadn't even seen before. She recognized Drowzee, Cyndaquil, Pidgey, Torchic, and Krabby.

"Why you little! Raticate, I choose you!" the Rocket grunt shouted dramatically.

The kids laughed. "Raticate? Hey, Braden, think you can take her alone?" Ricky joked.

"Oh, gee, I don't know...Dragonair, I choose you!" Braden shouted.

Kristen, Ricky, and Jacob didn't need to stick around to know what happened. They set to freeing the remainder of the trapped Pokemon. Screw the credit card. It was obviously history.

"FREEEEEDOM!" they cried as they toppled the boxes. Team Rocket members scrambled to try to catch the kids. Ricky brought out Arcanine and busted through the wall over the front counter into the arcade lobby, followed by the liberated Pokemon. Jigglypuff Double-Slapped her way through Rattatas, Raticates, Zubats and Golbats called forth by the "casino employees." Jacob's Gloom effectively put the enemy Pokemon and people to sleep.

Officer Jenny entered the casino lobby as Pokemon started pouring out. "What in the Distortion World?!" she shouted.

"This is _not_ an arcade!" Ricky said, panting. "We found all these Pokemon in boxes in the back!"

She looked around. "Oh my gosh. It's Team Rocket!" She got on her radio and called for backup. "Can you and your friends help round up these Pokemon?" she said aside to Ricky.

"Sure can!" said Ricky.

"Let's try to get all the freed Pokemon into the lobby. It looks like most of the Rocket grunts are incapacitated," said Jenny.

"Right," said Ricky. He ran to the back of the casino to find the others. It turned out the entire casino basement was a Team Rocket hideout. Kristen, Jacob, and Braden had already made their way in. "This is insane!" Ricky exclaimed when he caught up to them. "Hey, Jenny wants us to wrangle Pokemon."

"Oh, good, Jenny's here. We can stop now," said Kristen as Jigglypuff sang to a Rocket grunt.

"Well, this arcade sure isn't going to be here for much longer," said Ricky. He looked at the Rocket member that Jigglypuff had just put to sleep. "Hey, that's the guy!"

It _was _the guy that had approached them at the mall. Ricky bent down beside him. "Careful," Kristen warned.

Ricky shuffled through the man's pockets and bag, and then he let out a cry of glee. "The credit card!" he exclaimed.

"YAY!"

Ricky shook his fist at the sleeping grunt before they ran back up the stairs.

* * *

They met the press at the same place their adventure had started: at the fountain outside of the Celadon Department Store. Once again, the four kids had a crowd around them, taking pictures. Evidently they had accidentally busted a Pokemon smuggling ring in their quest to find the missing credit card. The Celadon Police Force rewarded each kid with $1,000 for their heroism.

"Wait until our parents see this!" Ricky whispered to Kristen during the press conference.

"Yeah, they can't be mad about losing the credit card if we became heroes because of it, right?" Kristen replied. Jigglypuff was hamming it up for the cameras, waving and bouncing happily. Arcanine stood at attention beside Ricky, and Dragonair wrapped itself lovingly around Braden. Slowpoke was very interested in the strange object on Jacob's head. He slowly reached for the King's Rock, and a bright light drew everyone's attention as Slowpoke became Slowking.

"Jiggly?" Jigglypuff squeaked in interest as she watched.

"Are you sure you don't want to evolve, Jigglypuff?" Kristen asked. "Like Growlithe and Slowpoke?"

"Puff!' Jigglypuff said. She hugged Kristen, and Kristen knew that everything was going to be alright.


	5. Little Girls

Kristen and her family stepped off the subway in Celadon City.

"Is it weird being back here so soon?" Kristen's mom asked her.

"I don't mind," said Kristen with a shrug. "Celadon was great fun! We definitely need to go to the Department Store."

"I'm sure your aunt Lelia would be happy to do that!" Kristen's mom laughed. Dad groaned. Shopping was _not _his favorite thing to do, nor was visiting family. Aunt Lelia and Uncle Percy lived in a suburb of Celadon. Since they all had the weekend off, the family decided to spend some time together.

They took a cab to Lelia and Percy's house. It was a beautiful blue home on a quiet street with open fields and clusters of trees behind it. Kristen scanned the landscape greedily. It looked like a great place to train and catch Pokemon! Unfortunately, Kristen wasn't going to get time for that anytime soon. Percy and Lelia had three kids, all of them young and excited to meet Kristen's Pokemon friends.

When they walked through the door, the youngest boy, Ryan, cried, "Hey look! It's the girl from the TV!"

"That's your cousin!" Aunt Lelia said sweetly, picking up the four-year-old.

"Cool! What's a cousin?!"

The older sister had no interest in any of her relatives. She just stared at Jigglypuff in amazement. "That is the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life!" she squealed.

Jigglypuff knew she was cute. She hopped off Kristen's shoulder to meet her new admirer, Rachel. Rachel scooped up the pink ball and let out another unintelligible squeal.

"Rachel, be careful with Jigglypuff," said Uncle Percy.

"It's fine," said Kristen. "Jigglypuff loves the attention."

The older brother, Nate, wanted to know all about Kristen's other Pokemon as well as her experience in the Casino. In fact, the first hour of their visit was devoted to rehashing Kristen's Pokemon adventures.

"Hm," said Nate, "I'm surprised after all of that, more of your Pokemon aren't evolved."

Kristen shrugged. "Jigglypuff doesn't want to evolve. I _do _want to evolve Pikachu, but I need a Thunderstone. As for the rest, I figure they'll evolve when they want to. I'm in no rush for them all to get super big!"

"Ricky's Arcanine is so big, they can both ride on him," Kristen's mom explained.

"Cool!" said Nate. "I can't wait to get my Pokemon license next year!"

Aunt Lelia sighed. "Don't be like that," said Kristen's dad. "You were just as excited to catch Pokemon when you were their age!"

Lelia blushed. "I suppose. It just seems so different when they're your kids."

"That's why we're doing things slow with Kristen and Ricky," said Kristen's mom. "They aren't just traveling the country for years unsupervised. It's insane to me that parents allow that."

"Well, ours did," said Lelia.

"Our parents just wanted us all out of the house," Kristen's dad laughed.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of pizza. The people and Pokemon sat down around the huge dining room table and promptly stuffed their faces. Jigglypuff ate with Aunt Lelia's primary Pokemon, her prized contest winner, Emolga.

After dinner, Kristen got the go-ahead to explore outside. Since Jigglypuff had bonded with Rachel, Kristen let Jigglypuff stay behind with her new friend. It felt strange to be exploring without Ricky or Jigglypuff, so she decided to call out Pikachu for company. They wandered into a cluster of trees full of tall grass, the ideal place to find Pokemon.

She heard a rustling, and her heart began to race. "Alright, Pikachu, are you ready?"

"Pika!" the yellow mouse Pokemon agreed.

They were surprised to hear a girl's voice. "MEOWTH! MEOWTH?!"

"Oh!" Kristen said. She scooped up her Pikachu. "Hello? Is somebody there?"

A girl appeared from behind a large bush. She was short but had long brown hair down to her knees. It was tied back with a pink bow, and Kristen was a little jealous of how nice it looked. "Oh, hi!" said the girl. "Have you seen a Meowth?"

"No," said Kristen. "I'll help you look, though! Did you lose one?"

"Yeah," said the girl. "He's kind of misbehaved. He always runs off on me."

Kristen pulled out a Poke Ball. "Pidgeotto, come out and help!" she called. Her Pidgey had evolved to Pidgeotto during her battle with Erika. The majestic bird took in his new surroundings and chirped happily. "Hey, Pidgeotto, can you look for a Meowth for us?" Pidgeotto cooed in response and took off above the trees.

"Wow," said the girl. "You must be a Pokemon trainer!"

"Yeah, I guess I am," said Kristen. "What about you?"

"I have been collecting Pokemon myself," said the girl. "I want to go to gyms, but I really want to use Meowth, and he's just...not ready."

"Hm, I kinda get that. My best friend is my Jigglypuff, but she's kind of hit a wall in her training, and she refuses to evolve," said Kristen.

"Well, you're obviously not a bad trainer. Pidgeotto and Pikachu look really healthy! I'm Sarah, by the way. Do you live in this neighborhood?"

"No, I'm here visiting my family. They live in that house, there," said Kristen, pointing to the big house in the distance.

"No way! I live right next door!" Sarah said.

Pidgeotto returned and squawked. "Did you find something?" Kristen asked. Pidgeotto squawked louder. "Alright, let's go!"

Sarah, Kristen, and Pikachu followed Pidgeotto through the suburb. They came to a bridge with a line of cars and bikes waiting. Pidgeotto squawked and pointed with his wing.

"Oh no," Sarah said. "We can't go that way!"

"Why not? Where does this go?" Kristen asked.

"Saffron City," said Sarah. She plopped down on the grass in defeat. "Maybe Meowth just hates me."

"I'm sure there's a reason he went this far," said Kristen. "I bet we could get some help. Look, there's a security booth over there. Let's see if they saw anything!"

"Alright," said Sarah, but she wasn't too convinced. She followed Kristen to the security booth. There were two security guards in purple uniforms, and they didn't look like they were paying much attention to anything besides the TV.

"Excuse me," said Kristen, knocking on the window. The guards looked up in confusion. Kristen and Sarah's heads barely peaked over the ledge. Pikachu sat on Kristen's head, and Pidgeotto still hovered above them. The guard nearest to them scowled and opened the window.

"What're you girls doing? This road isn't safe," he said.

"Sorry, sir," said Kristen, "but my friend here lost her Meowth. My Pidgeotto saw it come this way. Is there anything we can do?"

The guards laughed. "Is that all? Listen, we can't let anyone through right now by order of the police."

Sarah started to cry. "My Meowth! Poor stupid Meowth!"

"Ah, geez," said the guard. "Alright, I'll tell ya what. You bring us some lemonade, and we'll let you through."

"Really?" Kristen beamed.

"Yeah," said the guard. "Don't come back without lemonade." He slammed the window shut.

"Did you hear that? All we need to do is get some lemonade!" Kristen exclaimed.

Sarah was wiping away tears. "Thanks for helping. I'll talk to my parents. Umm...if they say I can go, you'll be next door?"

"Sure!" Kristen exclaimed.

On the way back, Kristen and Sarah talked more about their Pokemon adventures and friends. Sarah had a traveling companion named Luna who lived in Celadon, and they'd both beaten Erika to get Rainbow Badges as well. Sarah found it interesting that Kristen's friends were boys.

"So, do you like them?" Sarah asked.

"Like them? Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn't hang out with them!"

"No, I mean, _like them _like them," said Sarah.

"Oh!" Kristen exclaimed, and then she blushed. Her mom always asked her the same question. "Ricky's like a brother to me, so that's definitely a no. Jacob...I guess he's pretty cute in his own dorky way. But we're just focusing on our gym battles. We have our whole lives to figure that other thing out, right?"

"Right," Sarah agreed. "Boys just get in the way."

"Do they ever! Oh man, wait until I tell you about Braden!"

"There's another one?!" Sarah cried. "Geeeeez!"

"It's not like that!"

"I'm just teasing," said Sarah. "I actually think it's pretty cool that you hang around a bunch of boys."

"But it would be nice to have another girl around sometimes," said Kristen. "Like when they all made fun of me for liking Brock."

Sarah nodded. "Brock is hot."

"THANK YOU!"

"But if I could pick anyone, it'd be Lance."

"Yesssss!"

"Pika," Pikachu groaned.

The girls giggled as they parted ways. The sun was starting to set. Kristen and Pikachu walked back to Aunt Lelia and Uncle Percy's. There was upbeat music playing inside, and her family was laughing. She stepped through the door.

"Oh, you're just in time!" Aunt Lelia exclaimed. "Take a seat!"

Kristen wanted to tell them about Meowth, Saffron, and the lemonade, but she had no choice. Kristen plopped down on the floor beside Nate and Ryan. Rachel ran down the hallway wearing a pink tutu, plastic crown, and junky jewelry. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Pokemon fashion show featuring Emolga and Jigglypuff!" She threw a handful of glitter, and Jigglypuff and Emolga ran out from behind her dressed in matching tutus. They twirled and danced to the music.

"Awwww," the family said obligingly. Uncle Percy was watching every handful of glitter and wincing.

The song changed, and Rachel shooed the Pokemon back down the hallway. They returned with top hats and sunglasses. Thankfully, this stage of the show had no glitter.

"Awwwww," the family said again.

Kristen watched Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff really seemed to enjoy dressing up. Her thoughts traveled to Sarah and her stubborn Meowth. Maybe some Pokemon just weren't meant for battling, and that was okay. Kristen had more than enough other Pokemon she could use in battle.

The music changed again, this time to a country twang. Rachel and the two Pokemon came back down the hall with cowboy hats and bandanas.

"You look great, Jigglypuff!" Kristen called.

"Jiggly! Jigglypuff!" the pink Pokemon squealed.

A knock on the door interrupted the performance. Kristen jumped up and looked out the window. "It's Sarah!" she announced.

"Oh," said Aunt Leila. "You must have met the girl next door."

Kristen let Sarah in. "Hiiiiii," said Sarah.

"Hello dear," said Aunt Leila. "Come on in."

"So, Mom and Dad said I can't go tonight," said Sarah.

"Go? Go where? It's already dark," Kristen's mom said with concern.

"My Meowth ran away into Saffron City," Sarah explained. "We need to give the guards lemonade to get in."

The adults in the room all looked at each other and laughed.

"It's not funny!" Kristen exclaimed. "They were really rude to us!"

"Oh, dears," said Aunt Leila, "the Saffron guards have been telling kids that for years!"

"It's a joke," Uncle Percy explained, "for young trainers. The Saffron guards are just there to try to keep criminals out. You can walk right in if you want to, really."

"It's kind of their way of keeping inexperienced trainers away from the Saffron gym," said Aunt Leila. "Sabrina is one of the toughest in Kanto. She doesn't like battles that aren't challenging. So the guards started the lemonade gag. It's nothing, really."

"So it's not a police order?" Kristen asked in shock.

The adults laughed again. "Don't be silly," said Kristen's dad. "Saffron has plenty of space for visitors. Everything is fine."

"So we could have gone!" Sarah cried in frustration.

"Well, no, you're not going to Saffron City alone," said Kristen's mom.

"Why not? I go all over the place with Ricky," said Kristen.

"Well, yes, but..." Kristen's mom didn't have a good answer. "That's different."

Kristen couldn't see how it was different. Uncle Percy cleared his throat. "You're sure Meowth went into Saffron?"

"Pidgeotto saw Meowth go that way," Kristen said confidently.

Uncle Percy nodded and scratched his head. "I'd hate for anything to happen to your Meowth. Your parents can't take you looking for him?"

"They said we wouldn't find him anyways because it's dark," said Sarah.

"Well," said Uncle Percy, "there are ways around that." He looked at Aunt Lelia.

"Go on," she said. "Finding that Pokemon is more important."

Kristen's parents nodded. "Good luck!"

Kristen, Sarah, and Uncle Percy ran out to the car.

"Jiggly! Jigglypuff!"

Kristen looked behind her. "Jigglypuff, you want to come too?"

"JigglyPUFF!"

Jigglypuff piled into the car with the rest of them. Percy drove faster than he probably should to the bridge to Saffron. When they arrived at the security guard's stand, Percy pulled up and rolled down his window.

"Hey," he said.

The guard opened his window, baffled. "Can I help you, sir?"

Percy handed the guard a bottle of lemonade. The guard stared at it in disbelief, and then he threw his head back and laughed out loud. Kristen and Sarah rolled down the back window and waved to the guard, who gave them a thumbs up.

Saffron City was bigger than Kristen imagined. The lights from all of the buildings were gorgeous. In the center of the city, the Silph logo spun around the top of their skyscraper.

"Oh my gosh," said Sarah. "My parents were right. There's no way we can find Meowth in here!"

"Don't be silly," said Uncle Percy. "Does everyone have a Pokemon that can use Flash?"

"My Pikachu has it," said Kristen.

"Butterfree!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Excellent," said Uncle Percy. He parked the car near the Pokemon Center. "Then let's start searching!"

They stepped out of the car and released the proper Pokemon. Uncle Percy released his Hypno, a Pokemon that Kristen thought was a little weird but cool nonetheless. Each of their Pokemon began to glow on command: Pikachu's tail, Butterfree's wings, and Hypno's pendulum. "MEOWTH!" Sarah shouted. "MEOWTH?!"

They walked in and out of buildings looking for signs of Meowth. The glowing Pokemon illuminated all of the nooks and crannies of the city, so they left no spot unsearched. Other trainers took pity on Sarah and joined in the hunt as well. Soon, they had a parade of people looking for Meowth. The parade made its way to Silph Tower. Uncle Percy went into the building to ask if anyone had seen a Meowth while the rest continued milling around the downtown streets.

"MEOWTH! MEOWTH?!"

"SKITTY! SKITTY?!"

"NO," Sarah shouted at the rogue voice. "It's MEOWTH, not SKITTY!"

Jigglypuff perked up and ran toward the voice calling "SKITTY." "What the," said Kristen. She followed her Pokemon around the corner. There she found Meowth, sitting on a fence, cuddled around a Skitty.

"MEOWTH!" Sarah shouted.

"SKITTY!" came the second voice.

"Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff cried, and she jumped into Jacob's arms. Kristen and Jacob stopped in their tracks and laughed in surprise.

"This is your Skitty?" Kristen asked.

"Uhhh, yeah!" Jacob said. "This is so crazy! Is that your Meowth?"

"No, it's Sarah's Meowth. Sarah, this is Jacob I've told you about," said Kristen.

"Oh," said Sarah. "Hi!"

"Pleasure to meet you," said Jacob. A tall woman with light brown hair stood behind him. "Umm, this is my mom. Mom, this is Kristen, and her friend Sarah."

Sarah's cheeks were turning oddly pink.

"Ohhhmygosh, the famous Kristen!" said Jacob's mom. "Well, so _this _is where Skitty has been going, huh?"

"Your Skitty keeps running away too?" Sarah asked.

"Uh-huh," said Jacob. "I had no idea she was coming this far. I live in Lavender Town."

"I'm from Celadon," said Sarah. "We freaked out when we realized Meowth had gone to Saffron!"

"Well," said Jacob, looking at their two Pokemon, "now I kind of feel bad. Look at them!"

The two search parties got a good look at the Pokemon. Meowth nuzzled Skitty on the cheek, and then Skitty licked Meowth. "Awwwwww," said everyone.

"Now that we know, we'll just have to make sure they can meet up every once in a while," said Sarah.

"You bet," said Jacob. "Makes you wonder how they even met!"

"Meowth wanders a lot," said Sarah. She sighed. "My parents don't even know I'm here. I have to take Meowth and go."

Jacob nodded and pulled Skitty off the fence. Sarah did the same with Meowth. Meowth grumbled. "It's okay, Meowth. We have to go home now, but we'll see Skitty again, I promise!"

Jacob, Sarah, and their Pokemon just looked at each other for a moment. "Ummm," said Kristen. "Mission accomplished?"

"Yeah!" Sarah cried suddenly. Her face was _really _red.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Kristen asked.

"Yeah," said Sarah.

"It's a shame we can't stick around," said Jacob. "But I'll see you soon, right?"

"Of course," Kristen agreed. "I'll let you know when Ricky and I are free to go to a gym again. Goodbye, Jacob!"

"It was so great to meet you!" said Jacob's mom. "You'll have to come to Lavender Town some time to visit!"

"Sounds like a plan!" said Kristen. "Ready, Sarah?"

"Yeah," said Sarah dreamily.

Kristen hugged Jacob and Jacob's mom goodbye. The rest of the search parties had dispersed. With a final awkward nod between Sarah and Jacob, they parted.

"That's weird," said Kristen. "Uncle Percy hasn't come out of Silph Co. I wonder what's going on."

Kristen tugged at Sarah's shirt to get her attention. Sarah snapped around and said, "I'm sure he's fine. He's a former Kanto Champion, right?"

"He is," said Kristen. "I guess we just go in and ask for him?"

Sarah shrugged. "Works for me!"

They recalled their Pokemon and went into the skyscraper. The Silph Co. lobby had its own fountain in the middle, and a few clusters of furniture. Oddly, there were no people around except for the secretary at the front desk. "Excuse me," said Kristen. "A man with a Hypno came in here. Do you happen to know where he went?"

"Everything is fine here at Silph Co," the secretary said in a strangely robotic voice.

"Yeah, okay," said Kristen. "But did you see a man with a Hypno? He's tall and has brown hair."

"It is a joy to serve Silph Co, Kanto's number one technology company," said the secretary.

"Okay,_ what?_" Kristen said. She turned away from the front desk and the useless woman.

Sarah was just as confused. "UNCLE PERCY! UNCLE PERCY?!" they cried. Their cries echoed in the large hall.

"This is spooky," said Sarah. "Let's go back to the Pokemon Center."

"No," said Kristen. "We can't leave without him. Literally."

"Maybe your friend and his mom can help?" Sarah asked.

"Maybe," said Kristen. They went back to the doors, but the doors were locked.

"HUH?!" the girls said.

Two people laughed maniacally behind them. "Hahaha! Look at these kids!" said the woman.

"Yes, and it looks like they have Pokemon!" the man said.

"Excellent! The boss will be very pleased!"

"Yeah...I mean, MEOWTH!"

Kristen and Sarah turned around to see two of the most bizarre looking people they'd ever seen. The woman had bright magenta hair swooped back in an impossibly unnatural swirl. The man had purple hair that hung down over his ears. Both of them had white and black uniforms with red R's on them. And between them was a Meowth.

"Who are you? Where's my Uncle Percy?" Kristen demanded.

"PREPARE FOR TROUBLE!"

"AND MAKE IT DOUBLE!"

"TO PROTECT THE WORLD FROM DEVASTATION!"

"TO UNITE ALL PEOPLES WITHIN OUR NATION!"

"TO DENOUNCE THE EVILS OF TRUTH AND LOVE!"

"TO EXTEND OUR REACH TO THE STARS ABOVE!'

"JESSIE!"

"JAMES!"

"TEAM ROCKET BLASTS OFF AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT!"

"SURRENDER NOW OR PREPARE TO FIGHT!"

"MEOWTH! THAT'S...MEOWTH!"

Kristen and Sarah stood slack-jawed. "Did their Meowth just talk?" Sarah whispered.

"Meowth! Meowth Meowth!" said the Meowth.

"Nah," said Kristen. "That's impossible."

"Listen here, little girls," said Jessie. "Hand over your Pokemon, and nobody gets hurt."

"No way!" said Sarah. "We just spent all night looking for my Meowth. I'm not handing him over!"

"Yeah, absolutely not! Now where's my Uncle Percy?" Kristen asked again.

"Feisty little girls," said James.

"Our least favorite kind," said Jessie. "At least they don't have a Pikachu!"

Kristen called out her Pikachu. Jessie and James flinched. "Sarah, do you see that staircase behind them?" Kristen asked.

"Yeah," said Sarah.

"I'm guessing this is the front line, and Uncle Percy got past it," said Kristen. "Can you distract them while I run up and see what's going on?"

"Are you crazy?" Sarah asked.

"What choice do we have?" asked Kristen. "We can't get out. They're clearly here to take our Pokemon."

Sarah looked around. "There's a phone behind the desk," she noted.

"Right," said Kristen. "You go for the phone, I'll go for the stairs."

"WE CAN HEAR YOU!" James taunted.

"We've got to fight them," said Sarah. "Go, Meowth!"

Sarah's Meowth materialized in front of her. "Meowth?" the cat Pokemon asked.

Team Rocket's Meowth jumped forward. The two Meowths stared each other down. Kristen ran for the stairs.

"Stop that girl!" Jessie cried. "Go, Arbok!"

"Pikachu, use Thunderwave!" Kristen cried. Pikachu sent out an electric wave that paralyzed his opponents. Jessie, James, and Arbok were all unable to move!

"Go, Sarah! Call Officer Jenny!" Kristen cried as she ran up the stairs.

* * *

Kristen ran through Silph Co looking for Uncle Percy. She saw stacked boxes similar to the ones that were in the casino. Soon, she encountered a tall, burly Rocket Grunt. "What are you doing up here, little girl?"

_Little girl. _There was that phrase again. Funny, she couldn't recall a moment ever where a stranger had called Ricky a "little boy." Strangers never talked down to Ricky or anything. They also weren't surprised when he kicked their butt in a Pokemon battle.

Kristen glared at the grunt. "Where's my Uncle Percy?"

"Puff!"

"Pika!"

The grunt threw back his head and laughed. "You're Percy's niece, huh? Alright, come with me. We'll take you to him."

She knew she couldn't trust Team Rocket, but she also didn't have much of a choice. She didn't know her way around the place, and she could tell this grunt was probably tougher than the ones she'd left Sarah with on the first floor. She just had to trust in Sarah's ability to call the police. She nodded and followed the grunt.

* * *

Sarah dove behind the counter. "Everything is fine here at the Silph Co," said the secretary. Sarah crawled over a cord and noticed it was attached to the woman's foot. She unplugged the cord. "Everything...is...fiiiiine..." the secretary said slowly, and then she fell face first into the counter. A robot.

Sarah reached for the phone. The feline howls of Meowth and Meowth's duel raged. As Sarah dialed 911, her Meowth threw Team Rocket's Meowth into the fountain with a splash. Sarah almost thought she'd heard Team Rocket's Meowth say a naughty word as he hit the water.

"Ahhhh," James groaned. Thunderwave was wearing off.

"911, what's your emergency?" the operator on the other line said.

Tears welled up in Sarah's eyes, and her entire body trembled. She realized she hadn't even told her parents she was going to Saffron with Kristen's family, and now she wasn't entirely sure she would see them again.

* * *

The burly grunt lead Kristen up multiple flights of stairs, and with every step she took, she became more unsure. Team Rocket hadn't been scary in Celadon, but the idea that they had captured Uncle Percy really freaked her out. Also, she was terribly alone. Why hadn't she thought to introduce Jacob and his mom to Uncle Percy? Then she'd have another friend and another adult here, and none of this would be happening. Where was Ricky with his giant Arcanine, or even Braden with his Dragonair that could rip through any opponent without a second thought? Her Pokmeon were tough, but not _that _tough. There was certainly nothing intimidating about a Jigglypuff and a little Pikachu.

The grunt scanned a key card that opened up a wall. "Giovanni, we found another one," the grunt said.

Giovanni was standing at the Silph Co executive desk beside a Nidoking. Uncle Percy was there with his Ramparados, and both Pokemon looked pretty beat.

"Kristen!" Uncle Percy cried.

"Uncle Percy!" she responded. "What's going on?"

"How did this little girl get past the lobby?" Giovanni asked.

"It was Jessie and James's shift," said the grunt. "She has a Pikachu."

Giovanni rolled his eyes. "Just keep her over there. We'll decide what to do with her afterwards."

"Our deal still stands, Giovanni," said Uncle Percy. "I beat you, and you go quietly."

"Of course, Percival," said Giovanni. "I'm a man of my word. Nidoking, Earthquake!"

The ground rumbled, shaking everyone in the room. Pikachu squeaked in agony and fainted.

"Oh no, Pikachu!" Kristen cried. Earthquake affected Pokemon around even if they weren't battling, and Pikachu was weak to ground attacks. The poor thing was out cold. She recalled him and clutched the Poke Ball to her chest.

"Jigglypuff," Jigglypuff growled. She had been sitting on Kristen's shoulder and was unscathed.

Ramparados was losing balance. "Hang in there, Rampardos!" Uncle Percy. "Use Zen Headbutt!"

"Earthquake again!" Giovanni called. The ground rumbled again. Rampardos stumbled on his way to Nidoking, and he fell just inches before hitting Nidoking with what would have been a winning blow.

"Oh no, Rampardos!" exclaimed Uncle Percy.

"HA!" Giovanni cried. "I've defeated you again, Percival. Jack, take his Pokemon and put him in the basement with the other hostages! The little girl too!"

"Stop calling me a little girl!" Kristen burst. She put her hand on her Poke Ball belt, wondering which Pokemon to use against Nidoking. She was about to call out Poliwag when Jigglypuff jumped forward.

"Jigglypuff," Kristen whispered. "Use Double Edge!"

"JigglyPUFF!" The tiny pink ball slammed into Nidoking with reckless abandon. Nidoking's eyes grew wide with surprise as the force of Jigglypuff sent the huge purple hulk of a Pokemon backwards, crashing through the executive desk and into Giovanni. The pair slammed into the wall, leaving a massive crack. Both Nidoking and his trainer fainted.

"Jigglypuff!" Kristen's Pokemon landed on the broken pile of rubble that had been a desk.

"Boss!" said the grunt, running over to the defeated Kidoking and Giovanni.

Meanwhile, Kristen and her Uncle Percy stood in stunned silence. Someone pounded on the wall behind them. "Officer Jenny, open up!"

Kristen turned and pressed the button to open the door, and Jenny burst through with two male backup officers, and Sarah and Meowth. She examined the scene as the grunt threw his arms up in surrender. "What happened?" she asked.

All Uncle Percy could manage to say was, "Oh, you found Meowth!"

* * *

In Viridian City, Ricky opened the fridge for one last glass of milk before heading to bed. The TV glowed in the other room where his parents sat. It said, "_Breaking news from Saffron City. Former Kanto Champion Percival Ashton is being hailed a hero after uncovering a hostage situation in the Silph Co. skyscraper._"

"No way!" Ricky said. "Isn't that Kristen's uncle?"

"_Saffron PD confirm that the retired Pokemon trainer discovered notorious criminal group Team Rocket had taken over the corporation. Those affiliated with Team Rocket are now in custody including the leader of the criminal organization, Giovanni._"

In Lavender Town, Jacob looking up from his laptop in shock. The news continued:

"_Ashton wasn't alone in this effort, the champion tells reporters that he was helping find a lost Meowth in Saffron with two young Pokemon trainers, one of them his niece Kristen Manx, and the other her friend Sarah Soffner!"_

"WHATTT?!" Sarah's mom yelled in the small Celadon suburb.

"They deserve a lot of the credit," said Uncle Percy to the reporters on screen. "Kristen and Sarah are skilled Pokemon trainers and were so brave. They called for help and stood their ground. And of course, I'm really happy that everyone is safe and doing ok."

In the Ashton household, six heads clustered around the TV while ice cream sundaes melted in abandoned bowls.

"_What is rather striking about the whole situation tonight is that the former champion and Team Rocket leader have a history. 33 years ago, the two battled in the Indigo League finals, the beginnings of a budding rivalry. Ashton again praised his niece, saying that it was her Jigglypuff that defeated Giovanni's Nidoking in battle."_

In a Pokemon Center in Fuschia City, Braden spat out his milkshake.

"I'd always been afraid to use Double-Edge before," said Kristen to the reporters. "I never wanted to hurt my Jigglypuff. But adrenaline just took over, and we both reacted."

"_Saffron City police are currently freeing the hostage Silph Co. employees being held in the Silph Co. basement. Upwards of a hundred stolen Pokemon have been returned as well. We'll be sure to keep you up to date on the new developments as they unfold."_

* * *

In a quiet suburb of Celadon City, reunited families settled in to their homes. Uncle Percy got quite a scolding from Sarah's mom. The Ashton household could hear her shouting at him from inside.

"Mom, Dad," Kristen said, "I have a question."

"Sure," said Mom.

She thought hard about how to ask. "If Ricky weren't a boy, would you still let us go to gyms?"

"Huh?" Kristen's mom asked.

"You said me and Sarah going to Saffron together would be different," said Kristen. "And that's the only thing I can think of that's different. Sarah's a girl, and Ricky's a boy. Everyone kept calling me and Sarah 'little girls.' It really bothered me. Nobody ever says stuff like that to Ricky and Jacob."

Kristen's mom and dad looked at each other in shock. "We let you go with Ricky because we trust him and his family," said Kristen's dad. "We just met this Sarah. That's all."

"Are you sure?" Kristen pressed.

"You're our only child," said Kristen's mom. "We never want anything like what happened to you today to happen again, especially if you're on your own. When you're with Ricky, we know you're with someone who has a good head on his shoulders. Ricky is very mature for his age."

"Me and Sarah handled it," said Kristen.

"You had Uncle Percy," said Kristen's mom.

"If we hadn't been there, Uncle Percy would be in the Silph Co. basement," Kristen said.

Uncle Percy finally came back, looking defeated. He had caught the last sentence. "That's right," he said. "You totally rock!"

"Sarah and I want to travel together," Kristen announced. "Maybe without the boys sometimes. Can we do that? Please?"

"We'll think about it," said Kristen's dad.

"Who needs boys?" asked Uncle Percy. "Terrible creatures." He winked at Kristen.

"Uncle Percy, I didn't know that you knew Giovanni!" Kristen exclaimed.

"It was a long time ago," said Uncle Percy.

"Did you know he was evil?" Kristen asked.

"At the Indigo League? No, I didn't," said Uncle Percy. "He certainly wasn't my favorite person, but we had a friendly rivalry, I'd say. There were a lot of times where we actually got along."

"That's so weird," said Kristen. "Your rival turned into the Team Rocket boss!"

"When I realized it was Team Rocket in Silph Co, I had to investigate. I knew that if Giovanni was there, I could maybe level with him," said Uncle Percy. "Yeah, it's really weird. I hadn't seen him since I beat him thirty years ago." The clock struck midnight. Kristen and Jigglypuff yawned simultaneously. "Holy Militank," said Uncle Percy. "We better get some sleep!"

"Yeah," said Kristen.

Her parents gave her a final hug goodnight. "We're so proud of you," said Kristen's dad. "You know that, right?"

"Of course," said Kristen.

"Get some sleep, little hero," said Kristen's mom. "Maybe tomorrow we can meet Sarah's parents." She kissed Kristen on the forehead.

"Thanks, Mom," said Kristen. She pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and laid down. Limited space in the house put Kristen sleeping in the living room. She put her head on her pillow, and Jigglypuff snuggled in beside her. "You were amazing, Jigglypuff," said Kristen. "I'll never underestimate you again!"

"Puff," the pink Pokemon yawned as if nothing unusual had happened today. Kristen smiled and tried to get some sleep as well, but her heart was still racing. She certainly hoped her next trip was just a _little _bit less exciting.


	6. All That Glitters is Not Shiny

Ricky, Jacob, and Kristen meet up for another round of adventure in Fuschia City. They came with one goal, to defeat poison gym leader Koga, but distraction is right around the corner!

Kristen, Ricky, and Jacob gave their Pokemon to Nurse Joy for a preliminary check up, and then they gathered in the Pokemon Center lobby to strategize.

"I'm not so worried about this battle," Ricky boasted. "Poison types are not that strong."

"Are you kidding?" Jacob exclaimed, mouth open. "Yes, the common poison type is not much to get worked up about, but this is _Koga's _gym! Koga is a world-class Pokemon trainer. Don't underestimate him, Ricky."

Kristen opened her Pokedex and searched for "poison types." The Pokemon that filled her screen were mostly ones she classified as "icky." "They're weak to ground type and psychic moves," said Kristen. "Well, Jacob, you're all set with Slowking."

"You probably don't want to use Jigglypuff," Jacob warned. "Fairy types are weak to poison types."

"Shoot," said Kristen. "You're right. And I don't have a ground or psychic Pokemon." She frowned. "Oh! But Nidorina knows Dig!"

"That's a good strategy," agreed Jacob.

"Wait," Ricky said, "Kristen, you're not going to use that Moon Stone on Jigglypuff, right?"

"Right," said Kristen.

"Evolve Nidorina then," said Ricky.

"Oh!" Jacob exclaimed. "Nidorina evolves into a ground type! And if she knows Dig, that probably means she's ready!"

"Really?" Kristen asked. She searched for Nidoqueen on her Pokedex.

The Pokedex's robotic voice read, "Nidoqueen, the Drill Pokemon. Nidoqueen has thick skin covering its entire body, protecting it from whatever techniques are used against it."

"Cool," said Kristen. "Wow, such a big Pokemon!"

"Nidoqueen is a great Pokemon!" Ricky urged. "You'll be really intimidating with her at your side!"

"One problem," said Kristen. "I left my Moon Stone at home."

Ricky and Jacob groaned. Kristen shrugged, and then the last person they wanted to see walked through the door.

Braden's usual red and white clothing had been replaced with khaki garb. Kristen giggled when she saw him. He looked a little ridiculous. Unfortunately, her giggle attracted his attention. "Hey, it's the twerps!" he exclaimed.

"Hey, Braden," said Kristen. "What's with the costume?"

"Costume?" he asked, and then he looked down at his outfit and smiled. "Oh, this. Why, I've been hunting!"

"Hunting?" the three friends asked together.

He shuffled through his bag, pulled out a handbook, and showed them the cover. It showed strangely colored Pokemon and read, _The Ultimate Field Guide to Shiny Pokemon._

"Oh, _no_!" Ricky cried. "Shinies? I knew you were stupid, Braden, but this is a new level!"

Kristen curiously took the book from his hand.

"You won't think so when I catch every shiny Pokemon in Kanto!" Braden snapped back.

Ricky threw back his head and laughed harder than Kristen had heard in a long time. She opened the book.

"You can't possibly expect to do that!" Ricky retorted.

"Can too! I'm going to catch every shiny, and then I'm going to become rich!" Braden shot back.

She flipped through the book and saw a yellow Magikarp and a red Gyarados.

"But that's insane!" Ricky countered.

"It would be insane _not _to!" Braden replied.

She saw an Ivysaur and Venusaur with yellow flowers.

"While shinies are indeed a fun and interesting phenomena, the numbers are against you," said Jacob. "Only about 1 in 8,000 are shiny, we believe."

"That just means I need to see lots of Pokemon," said Braden.

She saw a black Charizard.

"It's a fool's errand," said Ricky. "People have gone mad hunting for shinies."

"I'm going to be the first," said Braden.

She saw a purple Wartortle and Blastoise.

"Well, I guess the good thing is that this will keep you out of our way," said Ricky.

"Are you sure you want to sacrifice gym battles for shinies?" Jacob asked.

She saw a golden Pidgeot.

"Oh, no, me and Dragonair are still going to win the Indigo League," said Braden.

"Shiny Pokemon frequently have lower stats," Jacob warned. "It's not a viable strategy for someone who wants to win leagues."

Ponyta was yellow and blue.

"There are lots of examples of good shiny Pokemon through history," said Braden. "Actually, there's a coordinator in Kanto cleaning house with a shiny Absol!"

"Well, that's a coordinator," said Ricky. "That's a different kind of competition."

She saw a pink Dratini.

"This Dratini is pink!" Kristen squealed, showing the book to her friends.

The boys looked at her blankly. "Come on," said Ricky. "Let's go talk strategy elsewhere."

"Ricky, why didn't you tell me about shiny Pokemon before?" Kristen asked.

"Because there's nothing to tell," said Ricky. "They're just another color."

"Just another color?!" Kristen cried. "This Dratini is _pink_! It's so awesome!" She flipped through the book. "Oh my gosh...look at this Lapras! It's purple! Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!"

"Welcome to shinies," said Braden. "I'm going to get a fishing pole and go try to catch a shiny Magikarp."

"I want to see!" Kristen squealed.

"What? No," said Ricky. "We've got a gym to challenge."

"The gym isn't going anywhere, Ricky," scoffed Kristen. "I want to see a shiny Magikarp."

"But you won't see one," said Ricky. "Jacob, back me up here."

Jacob looked nervously back and forth between Ricky and Kristen. "Uhhh...uhhh...I don't...whatever you guys wanna do..."

They heard the familiar jingle signalling Pokemon were ready to pick up. "Jacob, Ricky, and Kristen?" Nurse Joy said. "We checked out your Pokemon. They're all in perfect health!"

The three friends returned to the counter to retrieve their Poke Balls. Kristen immediately let Jigglypuff out of her ball so she could travel alongside them as per usual. Braden went over to the computers.

"Oh, hey, here's your book back," said Kristen, walking over to him.

"Keep it," said Braden.

"What? Seriously?"

"And if you want to join me, I'll be at the beach," he said.

Ricky and Jacob were reserving a room for their stay in Fuschia. Kristen nodded. "Hey, guys, I'm going to go to the beach," she called over to them.

"Okay," said Ricky. "We'll be..." He looked at Kristen walking towards the door with Braden. "Wait...NO!"

"Jiggly?" Jigglypuff said, looking frantically from Ricky to her trainer. "Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff waved her tiny arms in alarm at Kristen.

"Come on, Jigglypuff. We're going to find you some shiny new friends!" Kristen declared. Braden high-fived her.

Jigglypuff looked suspiciously at Braden. "Jigglypuff..." The pink Pokemon reluctantly followed.

* * *

Fuschia City had recently been hit with tropical storms and was undergoing renovations. Construction workers and painters rushed through the streets, touching up and rebuilding parts of the buildings. Ricky weaved through all of the commotion with Jacob trailing behind.

"Are you sure you don't want to think about this a little more first?" Jacob asked. His stomach grumbled. "Or maybe get some food at least?"

"Stupid Braden and his stupid shiny book," Ricky muttered.

"Ricky, I don't think this is the best time for you to be battling Koga," said Jacob.

"I can't believe she just up and went with him," Ricky continued. "Just because he has a freaking Dragonair..."

They arrived at the door of the Fuschia Gym. It appeared to the oldest building in the city, and it had an ancient vibe to it. Jacob paused to admire the foreign architecture reminiscent of Kanto's imperial era. Ricky, on the other hand, opened the door and barged in.

* * *

Kristen, Braden, and Jigglypuff sat on the beach fishing. Between them, they had caught about twenty-five Magikarp, ten Goldeen, seventeen Tentacool, and a few Horsea and Luvdisc. And they'd thrown all of these back.

"I think I might keep a Goldeen," said Kristen. "They're kind of pretty."

"You know what's prettier?" Braden said. "Anything shiny."

"You're right," said Kristen. She pulled out her rod to check the bait, and then she cast the line back into the water.

"Jigglypuff!" The pink Pokemon announced the presence of Ricky and Jacob. Jacob was leading, holding his head high and striding confidently across the beach. Ricky sulked behind him.

"Hey!" Kristen called. "How's it going?" Jacob dug into his cargo pants and produced his badge case. He opened it up. He had four badges to his previous three. "Oh wow, that's the Soul Badge!" Kristen exclaimed. "Awesome! Look, Braden, Jacob got a Soul Badge!"

Braden pulled another Magikarp out of the water and scowled. "Yeah, I got one too," said Braden. He threw the Magikparp back.

"Well, I suppose you're probably swimming in shinies by now," said Ricky sarcastically.

"Well, it's not that easy," Braden said. "Shiny hunting takes time and dedication. Kristen gets it."

"Having fun?" Ricky asked.

"It's kind of relaxing," said Kristen. "I sure have seen a lot of water Pokemon. Right, Jigglypuff?"

"Jiggly!"

"Did you challenge Koga too, Ricky?" Kristen asked. Ricky didn't say anything. Jacob put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "Oh," Kristen whispered. She looked at Ricky sympathetically. Ricky had never lost a gym battle before. "Ricky, do you want to fish for a while? I need to go to the bathroom."

"Why don't you just have your new best friend Braden do it?!" Ricky snapped. He ran off across the beach back towards the city.

"Jiggly...?"

"What the...?" Kristen said. Jacob held out his hand for her rod, and Kristen sighed. "Right, thanks." She picked up Jigglypuff and followed Ricky.

* * *

Ricky sat on a bench outside the Pokemon Center, pouting. He had let Arcanine out of his Poke Ball and was scratching the dog Pokemon behind the ears. "Ricky," Kristen started.

"I just don't get it," said Ricky.

Kristen sat down beside him. "Ricky, I'm not abandoning you and gym battles for Braden and shinies. I just wanted to have a fun, silly time before tackling this gym battle. I don't know how I'm going to beat Koga. And the fact that you lost terrifies me."

Ricky had to smile at the last comment, but he was still annoyed. "How can you have fun with him?" Ricky asked. "All he does is show off and try to one up everybody."

"He's actually nice when you get past that," said Kristen. "He did help us in Celadon."

"We didn't need him," said Ricky. "You don't need a Dragonair to beat up a Raticate."

"Yeah, I get he's over the top," said Kristen. "I dunno. I thought we were becoming friends. When you actually sit down and talk to him, he's just a normal kid like us. But you don't know that because you just pick a fight with him as soon as you see him."

Ricky sighed. Kristen was right, but he didn't want her to be right. He didn't want to be friends with Braden. He wanted to _beat _Braden, something he hadn't been able to do. Now he couldn't even beat gym leaders. The fact that Braden had taken up an absurd shiny quest was supposed to unite the trio of friends against him once more, but then Kristen had run off with him. It was too much.

"Oh my gosh," Kristen whispered, and she squeezed Ricky's arm. Ricky snapped out of his head, and looked at her, and she was staring off past him with a goofy grin on her face. He looked, and there was a Vulpix standing in the road. And it was pink.

"Woah," said Ricky. He stared at the pink Vulpix, and he was overcome with awe. "It's...amazing."

"What do I do?" Kristen asked.

"What do you do?" Ricky repeated incredulously. "What, did you forget how to Pokemon? You catch it!"

"Right," Kristen said, reaching for her Poke Balls. "Jigglypuff, can you use Double Slap on that Vulpix?"

Jigglypuff excitedly sprang into action. "Jiggly...PUFF!"

Vulpix saw Jigglypuff and responded with Ember. Jigglypuff stopped in her tracks.

"Feisty shiny!" Kristen squealed. "Don't worry, Jigglypuff! Use Sing!" Sing did the trick. The majestic pink Vulpix laid down on the ground. "Good work!" Kristen said. She readied a Poke Ball and took a deep breath. She turned back to Ricky. "I'm gonna mess up," she said.

He laughed. "It's okay. It's sleeping."

"Right," said Kristen. She turned to the adorable sleeping shiny. "Here goes nothing." She tossed the ball, and Vulpix entered. The Poke Ball turned once...twice...three times...and then rested.

Kristen's squeal was so loud, Ricky had to plug his ears. She picked up the Poke Ball and hugged it to her heart. Then, she hugged Ricky.

"Wow," said Ricky. "I mean, I said I didn't care about shinies, but I'm pretty jealous."

"Oh my gosh," said Kristen again. "I can't believe it."

"Are you crying?" Ricky asked.

"NO!" Kristen said defensively, but she had to wipe away a little tear. "Come on! Let's go show Jacob and..."

Ricky was grinning widely. "Braden is going to be so jealous!"

"Yeah, the poor guy has been out all day shiny hunting," said Kristen. "Maybe he found one too! Come on!"

Kristen ran off, and Jigglypuff cried in alarm. Jigglypuff's little legs couldn't carry her fast enough, so Ricky had to pick her up and put her on Arcanine to keep up. They all arrived at the beach. Jacob was still holding Kristen's fishing rod, but Braden looked like he was packing up.

"Well?" Kristen asked. "Did you get your shiny?"

"No," Braden pouted. "I think I'm going to go get some raspberries and try to lure forest Pokemon again. Are you coming?"

The sun was starting to set. "No," said Kristen. "I'm good. Check this out!" She produced her new Poke Ball and released Vulpix. The pink fox Pokemon materialized on the beach, and Braden's squeal was so loud, all three of the twerps had to cover their ears.

"Jiggly," Jigglypuff groaned. Vulpix, afraid of the boy's outburst, ran behind Kristen.

"Where?!..How?!...When?!...Why?!...Who?!" Braden was muttering question words that hardly made sense.

Kristen laughed. "By the Pokemon Center. I was really surprised it didn't belong to anybody, actually." She picked up her new Pokemon friend and cuddled it.

"How much?" Braden asked.

Kristen threw her head back and laughed louder. But Braden had pulled out his wallet. "Umm, I don't think so, Braden. I wouldn't trade my shiny for the world!"

"Are you sure? What about a trade? Anything but Dragonair," said Braden. "I'll go get you a Dratini. Anything you want."

"Oh my gosh, you're serious," said Kristen. "No! Get your own shiny!"

"Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff jumped between Kristen and Braden.

"Pathetic," said Ricky. "Come on, guys. Let's go to the Pokemon Center." He hopped on Arcanine. Jacob examined Vulpix closer. The fox Pokemon coughed, and a little ash landed on Jacob's face.

"Sorry," said Kristen.

"No, it's okay," said Jacob. He stroked Vulpix, then he grinned. "Say, I think we better give Vulpix a bath when we get to the Center."

Kristen rubbed her face against the tuft of fur on Vulpix's head. "Oh yeah, that has a really weird texture, doesn't it?" She held Vulpix out in front of her, admiring its pink fur. Vulpix squeaked in approval. "I can't wait to show you off to everyone at the Pokemon Center!"

"Kristen, seriously," Braden continued, "people will pay big bucks for that Vulpix."

"Is that really what you want shinies for?" Kristen asked.

"Well, like your friend said earlier, they're not usually good for fighting," said Braden. He pulled out his Pokedex and scanned Vulpix. "See, this Vulpix has mediocre stats." He pushed the screen towards Kristen.

"I don't care," said Kristen, not even bothering to look. "It's my very own adorable shiny. It doesn't need to be super powerful."

"If you're not going to battle with it, I see no reason-"

"Shut up!" Kristen cried.

"It's not your shiny, Braden," said Ricky, unable to hide his satisfaction at Braden's unhappiness. "Get over it."

Jacob giggled slightly, and then he covered his mouth. Braden sat back down and cast a fishing line back out into the ocean.

"Wow," said Kristen. "I thought my friend could be happy for me. Guess you're still just a jerk. Goodbye, Braden."

* * *

Back at the Pokemon Center, they took Vulpix into the Pokemon Washroom. Ricky gave Kristen some special formula to wash fire types with. She put Vulpix in a tub, added a safe amount of water, and began to scrub.

"I'm sorry Braden turned out to be a jerk," said Ricky. "Again."

"After Celadon, I just thought that he was coming around," said Kristen.

"I don't think it's that Braden isn't your friend or that he's just being a jerk to be a jerk," said Jacob. "I mean, he seems kind of lonely, doesn't he?"

"That's true," said Kristen. "I've never seen him with anyone else, and he didn't talk about anyone else all day."

"Hm," said Ricky, "well, if he treats everyone like he treated you and Vulpix..." Ricky's eyes grew wide as he looked at Vulpix. Vulpix was a really docile Pokemon. She seemed young and didn't struggle as Kristen cleaned her. Kristen realized she had hardly been paying attention to what she was doing. She looked down. Vulpix was turning brown!

"AHHHH!" Kristen cried. "Oh no! Ricky, what is happening?" She dropped the loofah she was using to clean Vulpix. Vulpix looked at her with concern, said "Vullll," and then coughed up ash. Jacob started all-out laughing. "Jacob, it's not funny! Something is really wrong with Shiny!"

The boys stared into the tub, and Jacob scooped "Shiny" out. "There's nothing wrong with her," said Jacob. "Shiny is not shiny!"

"What?!" Kristen and Ricky exclaimed.

"But...but pink though!" Kristen said.

"Question," said Jacob, wiping the bubbles off Shiny with a towel, "what color is Fuschia City?"

"What color is it?" Kristen repeated, baffled. "Ummm, Fuschia?"

"And so what color were those workers painting the buildings?" Jacob continued.

"Ohhhhh," Ricky gasped.

"You're saying it was paint?" Kristen asked.

"Paint," Jacob confirmed. "I'm actually really surprised Braden didn't notice. Shiny Vulpix aren't pink. They're gold."

Kristen brought her palm to her face. "So you're saying Braden got mad at me for getting the first shiny...and it wasn't even a shiny!"

"Wow, I'm really sorry, Kristen," said Ricky. "I know how much you wanted a shiny. Especially a pink shiny."

Kristen took Vulpix back from Jacob. "Vulllll," the Pokemon said sweetly.

"That's okay," said Kristen. "She's still so cute and fluffy! And I've been wanting a fire type."

"Vulpix and Ninetales are great Pokemon!" Ricky agreed. "Hey! Now we know what we can do with that second fire stone I have!"

"Oh wow, you're right!" Kristen said. "Wow. Imagine me with a Ninetales! That is, as long as Shiny _wants _to evolve."

"You're still calling her Shiny?" Ricky asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Kristen said. "It'll always remind me of the special day we met!"

"Well, this day sure took an interesting turn," said Jacob. He yawned. "Kristen, do you want to hit the gym tomorrow, then?"

"Sure do!" Kristen cried. "You'll have to tell me all about it so that I can be prepared!"

"Definitely!" said Ricky. He was clearly snapping out of that funk he had gotten himself into earlier. "Honestly, I would start with Shiny!"

"Really? But she only knows Ember and some other low-level attacks!" Kristen said.

"Maybe she won't knock a Pokemon out, but fighting Koga will give her some good experience. And it seems like she already really trusts you!" Ricky observed.

Kristen hugged Shiny tighter. Jigglypuff, who had been playing with the sink next to them, saw this and puffed. Kristen laughed. "Come here, Jigglypuff! I'll battle with you tomorrow too!"

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff said happily, and then also jumped into Kristen's arms.

They all walked out of the Washroom laughing, and Braden was sitting in the lobby. He looked at them, huffed, and turned back to the computer. But then he did a double-take. "Wait, you had a regular Vulpix too?" he asked.

"No, this is Shiny," said Kristen.

He cocked his head to the side in confusion. "You twerps can be really strange sometimes, you know that?"

Ricky could think of a bunch of comebacks, but he held his tongue. Kristen just smiled. "I hope you get lots of shinies, Braden!"

"Yeah, thanks," said Braden. "You're going to challenge the gym, right?"

"Right," said Kristen.

"Good luck," he said. "I'm heading on to Cinnabar Island. You better have the Soul Badge the next time I see you!"

"Deal," said Kristen. "Goodnight, Braden!"

"Goodnight twerps," said Braden.

* * *

The trio stood outside of the Fuschia City Gym. "I'm nervous," said Kristen. "I'm not ready."

"You're plenty ready," said Ricky. "Win or lose. Battling with Koga is an amazing experience."

"Wow, Ricky," said Kristen. "That's a really mature thing to say."

"I learned a lot yesterday," said Ricky. "But this time, I'm going to win!"

Jacob opened the door. "Here we go!"


	7. Poison and Soul

Free of distraction and full of determination, Kristen and Ricky are ready to challenge gym leader Koga. For Ricky, it will be his second time. Can he defeat the renowned poison trainer?

The gym was empty. Not just empty as in there was nobody in the stands or the arena. It was a wooden floor with white walls. That's it. Empty. Kristen took a few steps forward, and she smacked into a barrier. Jacob and Ricky laughed.

"What the...?" she stammered. She reached out and touched the invisible barrier. It was smooth like glass.

"Cool, huh?" Jacob said.

"I hit it so hard the first time, I thought I broke it," said Ricky. He reached out to touch the wall, and he started walking with his hand on it. Jacob did the same.

"Jiggly?" Jigglypuff said. She reached out to touch the wall like her human friends were doing, and then she jumped backwards in surprise when she touched it.

Kristen picked her up. "Come on, Jigglypuff!" They followed Ricky and Jacob through the maze. The boys were surprised to find that the walls had changed since yesterday. "It did not!" Kristen laughed when they told her. "You're just remembering it wrong!"

"No, I distinctly remember going straight through here to the gym," Ricky said, pressing his hand against a wall that was blocking their way to the next room.

Jacob had already followed the wall around the corner and was up against the actual white wall. "Huh," said Jacob. "Well, turn around! No getting through this way."

Kristen still doubted that the walls had changed, but she stuck out her hand and started leading in the opposite direction. They found the entrance around the next corner. The next room was small and dark. There was a little old lady sleeping at a desk with a single lamp lighting it. An Ekans was wrapped around her shoulders. "Ekanssssssss," it said. Ekans tickled the woman's nose with his tail, and she sprang up.

"Huh, what?" she said, and then she saw the three kids before her. "Oh, hello there! Are you here for a Pokemon battle or a reading?"

"Two Pokemon battles," said Jacob.

The woman fumbled on the desk and put on her glasses. Her face lit up when she saw Jacob and Ricky. "Ah, yes, you were here yesterday! Here for rematches, eh?"

"I'll be having a rematch," said Ricky. "This is Kristen's first time."

"Well, welcome, welcome!" said the old woman. She opened a notebook and scribbled. "Koga is on his lunch break, but you kids can go on in. Nobody else is scheduled ahead of you. Unless I could interest any of you in a tarot reading while you wait?"

"What is it?" Kristen asked.

"Tarot cards," said the woman, grabbing a little red pouch off the desk and shaking it. "An ancient fortune-telling art. Very few know how to read them correctly, but I am a specialist."

"Sounds like fun!" Kristen said.

"It is not fun!" the woman burst, wagging her finger at them. "It is a very serious, old, and respected art." Her face changed from disapproval to invitation. She pulled a stool out from under the desk and placed it beside her. "Come, sit," she said. The boys stepped backward, leaving Kristen and Jigglypuff exposed and with no other option but to sit. The woman took the strange deck of cards out of the red silk pouch and placed them in front of Kristen. "Shuffle," she ordered.

Kristen wasn't sure why she was doing the work for the woman if this was such an old and respected art, but she did as she was told. Luckily, her dad was a card shark and had taught her how to shuffle properly, although she wasn't very good at it. She shuffled awkwardly as the old woman watched. This went on for what felt like an uncomfortably long time, and when she couldn't take it anymore, she put down the stack of cards.

"Very good, dear," said the woman. The woman picked up the deck and placed four cards in a diamond pattern in front of Kristen. "Let us begin," she said. She flipped over the card closest to Kristen and smiled. "You have the Celebi," she said.

"Okay?" Kristen asked nervously. Celebi was depicted in a forest. The cards looked like they had been painted by hand. Kristen wondered if the old woman here had made the cards herself.

"I am not surprised to see this card, seeing as you came here with friends," said the old woman. "The Celebi represents peace and friendship. It is a sign of a very fulfilling life ahead."

Kristen relaxed a little about this tarot card thing. She was suddenly very interested to see the next card. The old woman flipped over the one closest to her and smiled again. "The Eevee," she said. The Eevee on the card was sleeping peacefully on a pillow. "It is difficult to interpret," said the woman. "The Eevee is a card of uncertainty. It represents much unlocked potential, and maybe a future that has not yet become clear." Kristen frowned, and the old woman touched her lightly on the hand. "Don't fret, dear," she said. "You are, after all, how old?"

"El-actually, I just turned twelve," said Kristen. Her birthday had occurred just before they left for Fuschia. It was so new, she kept forgetting she was twelve.

"Twelve," the woman repeated. "You are young! All our young people have an element of the Eevee within them, because you are just beginning to make the choices that will determine your future. A pairing of the Eevee and Celebi card suggests that the people you meet along the way, such as your good friends here, will help shape you."

"Oh," Kristen sighed in relief. "Alright."

"Let's see what we have here," said the woman, turning over the card to the right. "Ohhh," the woman said, thinking. Kristen leaned over. The card depicted a Doduo, one with a friendly face, and the other with an angry face. The card unsettled her. "The Doduo," said the woman. "It is another card of uncertainty, but more ominous."

"Ominous?" Kristen repeated, hoping she had misheard the woman.

"The Doduo represents a person with a double life," said the woman. The woman took Kristen's hand. "I do not think that this card represents you, but someone that you know. Someone who is on your mind."

"On my mind?" Kristen asked. She began thinking frantically about the people she knew. Who had she been thinking about most recently? Koga? Why would Koga turn up in her tarot card reading? No, it couldn't be. She didn't really _know _Koga yet.

"You do not have to answer," said the woman. "Let me flip the next card. Perhaps that will give us more information." She flipped the card to the left, and she gasped.

"What?!" Kristen burst, annoyed now.

"You have," the woman said, blinking and shaking her head in disbelief, "the Moltres!"

Even Ricky and Jacob reacted audibly to the announcement and stepped forward to see the card. Sure enough, Moltres was depicted flying out of a volcano. The card seemed to shine due to the glare from the lamp, giving the Moltres card an ethereal quality.

"What's it mean?" Kristen asked tentatively.

"My dear," said the woman gravely, "this is a warrior's card."

Kristen, Ricky, and Jacob exchanged glances. Then, as if sharing one thought, they all began to laugh.

"Warrior? Me?!" Kristen squeaked. "Ridiculous. Can you imagine?"

The old woman looked dismayed, and then the door to the arena opened. A man with jet black hair and piercing dark eyes peered in. He wore a dark blue robe and a red bandanna over his mouth. Kristen froze as she gazed up at him. Now that, she thought, is a warrior. Koga pulled down his bandanna, and she was surprised to see he was smiling. "Ricky, back so soon?" he asked slyly.

Ricky pumped his fist. "I took your advice, Koga. I'm ready now."

"If you say so," said Koga. He turned his gaze to Kristen. "And this must be Kristen."

Kristen gulped. Somehow the fact that he already knew her name made him _more _intimidating. He was the oldest gym leader that they had faced so far, probably around the same age as Uncle Percy. That parallel made her feel completely out of her league.

The old woman began packing away the tarot cards, and Koga rolled his eyes. "Mom, you haven't been bothering them with that nonsense, have you?" he asked.

Koga's mom shook her head. "One day you will appreciate the power of the ancient arts."

"I know everything I need to know about a person from battling them," said Koga. "So then, who first?"

Ricky stepped forward. "I officially challenge you to a rematch!"

"I accept your challenge!" Koga said confidently. "Follow me!"

They followed Koga through the doors into a room that looked almost identical to the one with the invisible walls. Jigglypuff cautiously stuck her little arms out to feel for one, but this was clearly an open room. The Poke Ball pattern was drawn in the center with a white rectangle to indicate the boundaries of the battling space. There were no chairs for spectators, but some padded mats on the ground behind the challenger. Jacob sat on one, and Kristen and Jigglypuff took a spot beside him. Kristen kind of enjoyed sitting on the floor. They were also much closer to the action than they would be in any other gym. Koga's mom entered with her Ekans still wrapped around her neck. She took a place at the referee stand.

"Each trainer may use three Pokemon," she said. "Only the challenger may substitute. Do you accept these terms?"

"I do," said Ricky.

"Then you may choose your first Pokemon," said Koga's mom.

"I choose you...Arcanine!" Ricky announced, throwing his first Poke Ball up into the air to release his primary Pokemon.

"Arcanine again, eh?" Koga said. "I will choose...Koffing!"

Koga released his Koffing. The ball of gas hovered in the air in front of Koga,blocking his face from the kids' view. There was only Koffing's goofy grin, and a little smog seeped out of it. Koffing looked happy to be there.

"Okay, I feel weird thinking this, but Koffing is kind of cute," said Kristen.

Jacob nodded in agreement. "Koga is not going to make this easy for Ricky. He knew Ricky was going to lead with a fire type, so he isn't using his bug-type Pokemon."

"So...I didn't really get into it with Ricky. What _happened _last time?" Kristen asked.

Jacob shook his head. "Ricky wasn't in the right state of mind for battling," said Jacob, "and Koga realized it, and he used Ricky's aggression against him."

"Aggression?" Kristen asked. "Wait...you mean...he was upset about me and Braden, and he lost because of it."

"Well, he really could have lost naturally, but...you know how Ricky usually balances his attack and defense really well? He went full on assault last time," said Jacob.

"He always gets like that about Braden," said Kristen. "I don't get it."

"Well, Braden's an older boy with what we can pretty safely say is a superior Pokemon," said Jacob. "And Braden gives you a lot of attention."

"Are you trying to say Ricky has a crush on me?" Kristen whispered.

Jacob considered. "Maybe, maybe not. I don't think it matters. But I remember you told me the story of when you met Braden. You were able to defeat him when Ricky couldn't. You...who had only that day begun to learn what a Pokemon battle was."

"But that was dumb luck," said Kristen. "Jigglypuff doesn't get affected by dragon moves like Growlithe did. Ricky knows that. Heck, the next time Braden and I fought, I lost horribly because Dragonair had learned different moves."

"But do you remember," Jacob began, "how Braden _chose _you to battle that day?"

"Yeah," Kristen said with discomfort at remembering the incident.

"I think that Ricky thinks of Braden as his rival, but Braden doesn't see Ricky the same way," said Jacob. "I fancy that Braden has chosen _you _as his rival."

"I don't want a rival," said Kristen. "Remember what Koga's mom said? I'm a Celebi."

"KOFFING IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! ARCANINE IS THE WINNER!" Koga's mom announced. Jacob and Kristen realized they hadn't been paying attention to the battle at all.

"Well done, Ricky," said Koga. "You and Arcanine seem to be in sync. I'm impressed. Now let's see what you do against this opponent...go, MUK!"

Koga's next Pokemon was definitely not cute. Muk was a huge, stinky blob that took up almost half of the arena. "Alright, Arcanine, let's start this off with Extreme Speed!"

Arcanine became a blur. The big orange dog slammed into Muk, and Kristen winced thinking about what Muk's body must feel like.

"Muk, Minimize, and then use Sludge," Koga ordered calmly. Muk shrank before their eyes! And as it shrank, it belched up a blob of purple bile. Arcanine was too close for it not to hit. The large dog, who had taken a lot of damage in the first battle, fainted.

"Arcanine is unable to battle," said Koga's mom. "Muk is the winner."

Ricky recalled Arcanine. "Good job, friend!" He tucked Arcanine back in his bag and thought. He didn't have a Pokemon with a clear type advantage. He just had to go with his gut. He fumbled through his bag until he found the Poke Ball he wanted. "Come on out, Elekid!" Elekid took center stage. Kristen hadn't seen Elekid much since Cerulean. Being at a disadvantage against Erika, Elekid hadn't appeared in Ricky's Celadon gym lineup. But Elekid looked pumped to be chosen for this battle. The tiny electric Pokemon pumped his fists in the air.

"Elekid, eh? Didn't know you had static up your sleeve," said Koga. "It's always a treat when a rematch brings surprises! Let's go, Muk, use Poison Gas!"

"Elekid, use Light Screen!" Ricky ordered.

"Nice," said Jacob. "Muk's primary moves are special. It's smart of Ricky to use Light Screen off the bat."

But Poison Gas made its mark, and Elekid coughed. "Are you okay, Elekid?" Ricky asked.

"Elekid!" the Pokemon confirmed.

"Great! Now use Thunder!" Ricky ordered.

Elekid grunted as it gathered the power required for Thunder.

"Muk, use Sludge," Koga said.

"Dodge it!" Ricky cried. Elekid released his Thunder prematurely in order to obey the second order, and Thunder missed its mark.

"Relax," Koga said. "You're overwhelming your Pokemon."

"Is Koga coaching Ricky during the battle?" Kristen whispered.

"That's right!" Jacob answered happily. "Honestly, I'm excited to see what he says to you! It's a very educational gym experience."

Ricky switched his strategy to using Thunderbolt, and soon Muk was unable to battle. Koga was down to his last Pokemon.

"Impressive little guy!" Koga said of Elekid as he recalled his Muk. "Alright, Ricky, I think you can handle this...come on out, Weezing!"

"Ew," Kristen said under her breath. Poor Koffing didn't evolve well in her opinion!

"I hope you're not letting me win, Koga!" Ricky said.

Koga laughed. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Ricky. Weezing, use Toxic!"

"Dodge and use Thunder, Elekid!" Ricky shouted. Dodging was futile, however. Elekid fell back on the ground, clearly poisoned. Ricky groaned in frustration. "Come on, Elekid, we can still get him! Use Thunderbolt!"

"Elekid!" the electric Pokemon said in agreement. Elekid pushed himself up and landed a shock to Weezing. Weezing shook as it recovered its bearings.

"Don't let up, Elekid! Thunderbolt again!"

"Sludge, Weezing!"

Slowed down by poison, Elekid took a direct hit from Sludge. It appeared he might have fainted, but Koga's mom held off on calling the match. Koga didn't give Weezing another order, either.

"What are they waiting for?" Kristen said.

And then Elekid started to glow. Elekid grew a tail, and then his body expanded to match. The Pokemon formerly known as Elekid pumped his now much larger fists in the air. "Buzzzzz!" he declared.

"YESSS! FINALLY!" Ricky shouted triumphantly.

"That's awesome!" Kristen exclaimed in support. "Go Electabuzz!"

Electabuzz looked refreshed, and Weezing had taken a lot of damage. "Ready to finish this, Electabuzz?" Ricky asked. "Use Thunder!"

"Dodge it, Weezing!" Koga cried. But Electabuzz was much more focused than the first time. He accurately directed the burst of electricity at Weezing, hitting his target and causing Weezing to fall.

"Weezing is unable to battle," Koga's mom declared. "That means the challenger is the winner!"

Koga clapped. "Bravo, Ricky. You earned it!"

Ricky hugged his new friend Electabuzz. "That was awesome, Electabuzz! Together, we'll be unstoppable!"

"Buzzzzzzz!"

"Electabuzz evolved because the bond between you is very strong. I could feel it from the start," said Koga as he presented Ricky with the Soul Badge. Koga then turned to Kristen. "Well, young lady, I hope you won't think me rude if I take a break to get my Pokemon to the Pokemon Center."

"Not at all," said Kristen.

"I'll be ready with three more Pokemon when I return. I look forward to our battle," said Koga. He gave a slight bow, and then he exited the gym.

Kristen sighed. She wasn't sure if she was happy to have this break between battles, or if she would rather they had just rolled right into it and gotten it over with. Koga's mom apologized, "We've seen a higher volume of trainers coming through here as we get closer to the Indigo League. Koga usually has more Pokemon on hand, but anymore, he's swapping them all out at the Center."

"Oh," Kristen said, suddenly alarmed. "I didn't realize...when is the League?"

"Two months," said Koga's mom. "Everyone is rushing to get their badges."

"Not us," said Jacob, laying down on the mats. "I'd rather take it easy and be really ready for the League instead of rushing."

"Yeah, and our parents won't let us go out that often," said Ricky.

"Two months," Kristen whispered to herself. She looked up at Ricky. "You sure we can't make it in two months?"

Ricky laughed. "Ummm, no," he said. "Provided you win today, there's four more badges we need."

"Two a month?" Kristen asked. "That's reasonable."

"Yeah, maybe," said Ricky, "if we win the first time. I mean, I want to go to the League, but I think Jacob's right. We shouldn't rush it."

"I want to go this year," Kristen declared.

Ricky laughed again, and then he stopped himself when he met her eyes. "Wait, you're being serious."

"We need to go this year, because...because...," Kristen struggled to figure out for herself why it mattered so much to her all of a sudden. "Because Braden will be there."

Ricky's face darkened. "You're right," he said.

Jacob pushed himself up and stared at her. "You're joking," he said.

"We need to go and beat Braden," said Kristen. "We need to show him that he's wrong. The way he thinks about Pokemon is wrong. It's not just about power and money."

Ricky cracked his knuckles. Jacob's mind was suddenly firing on all cylinders trying to comprehend this sudden passion in his friends. "But you_ just said _you didn't care about having a rival!"

"But then _you just said _Braden chose me," Kristen said.

"Two months, four gyms," said Ricky. "Let's see. We still have school."

"For one more month," said Kristen. "That gives us an _entire _free month before the League!"

"Oh my gosh, you're right! HAHA! YES!" Ricky cried. "Jacob, you're in, right?"

Jacob groaned. "I don't think we're going about this the right way or for the right reasons," Jacob said slowly. "The goal of the League shouldn't be just to beat one person."

"I beat him once," said Kristen. "I can do it again. I just need more experience."

"Actually, Jacob, it's a far more reasonable goal than say, winning the League," said Ricky. "First years never win the League!"

"But we can beat one person. If there's three of us in it, at least one of us should get matched with him," said Kristen.

"That's if Jacob plays along," said Ricky.

"I'll call Sarah," said Kristen.

"I'm in," said Jacob. Kristen shot him a knowing glance, and he blushed. "I mean, I'm in, because we started this journey together, and I want to finish it with you. And if Sarah wants to tag along, too...well, Skitty will be pleased!"

"Well, this just got a lot more interesting," remarked Koga's mom. "I am going to brew some tea. Would you kids like some?"

"Yes, thank you, Mrs...Koga's mom," said Kristen.

"Call me Yuma," said Koga's mom. "Come along." She gestured for them to follow, and they did so willingly. Something about the battle and their conversation had softened Yuma. She no longer felt like some eccentric old woman to the kids. She led them through a door at the back of the gym and through a hallway to a beautiful kitchen.

"Is this your house?" Jacob asked.

"Yes," she said. "Please, sit." She gestured to a table, and they all pulled up chairs. "Yes, when Koga's wife died, I moved back in to help take care of Janine. Although, to be fair, now I am the one who needs taken care of."

"Oh," Kristen said, processing the information. "Is Janine Koga's daughter, then?"

"Yes, and she used to do my job, but she is off on her own adventures now," said Yuma. "Koga has a soft spot for young girls because they remind him of her." She began boiling a pot on the stove. "Yes, this house and gym has been in our family for generations."

"Were you ever a gym leader?" Jacob asked.

Yuma's eyes twinkled. "I was indeed. Although, my type specialty was a little different. You see, I specialized in Psychic types."

"But Saffron is the Psychic gym," said Ricky.

"It is _now,_" said Yuma. "Ah, you kids, you cannot even comprehend how many years I've been on this earth! Our family was the keeper of the Soul badge, for Psychic types. It was Koga who prompted the change, actually, and then Saffron built their Psychic gym."

"Hm," said Jacob. "Why'd he change it? Just personal preference?"

"Yes," said Yuma. "Koga's style doesn't lend itself to Psychic types. Well, you heard what he said about my tarot cards."

"He doesn't believe in them," said Kristen.

"He believes in the physical world, what he can see," said Yuma. The pot whistled, and she poured four cups of tea. She was placing them in front of the kids when Koga came through the door.

"I sure hope my mother isn't boring you," said Koga.

"Not at all," said Kristen. "She's very nice."

"I was just telling the kids about when this was a Psychic gym," said Yuma. She sat down at the table with them.

"Ah, yes," said Koga.

"So while you were out, the kids came to a conclusion," Yuma said.

Koga pulled up a chair. "And what's that?" he asked.

The kids sipped their tea. Ricky was the first to set down his cup and say, "We're going to the Indigo League this year."

Koga smiled. "That's a very admirable goal," he said. "How many badges do you all have?"

"If Kristen wins today," Ricky said, "we'll each have four."

Koga whistled. "That only gives you two months to get the final four."

"It's not reasonable, right?" Jacob asked.

"Well, that depends," said Koga. "I would say that at your age there is no rush."

"They want to beat their rival," said Jacob.

"Aha," said Koga. "I see. Tell me about this rival." So Kristen and Ricky explained how they met Braden in the woods, and how they continued to run into him on their journeys. Koga listened patiently and thoughtfully. "Well," he said when they had finished, "it sounds like this rivalry is very important to both of you."

"I don't think that a rivalry should be the driving force of your Pokemon journey," said Jacob.

"Well, Jacob, what do you think it should be?" Koga asked.

"It should be about bettering yourself and bonding with your Pokemon," said Jacob.

"An excellent answer," said Koga. "But, it sounds to me like the rivalry between Kristen, Ricky, and Braden has done just that. Meeting Kristen and Ricky exposed a flaw in Braden's strategy that he hadn't noticed before, and he grew from it. Likewise, the desire to defeat a rival has pushed Kristen and Ricky in their training. To me, this sounds like a wonderful working rivalry. I would be honored to one day witness the culmination of this rivalry. Perhaps that will be at the Indigo League this year. Perhaps a Championship League in years to come. Either way, I would have to disagree with Jacob. Let's see if we can get you a step closer to the Indigo League."

Jacob's jaw dropped. Kristen put down her tea. "Let's go," she said.

They returned to the gym. Ricky, Jacob, and Jigglypuff sat on the mats, and Kristen took her place in the challenger's box. Koga bowed slightly, and Kristen did the same. Yuma announced, "Each opponent may use three Pokemon. Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. The first to defeat all of their opponent's Pokemon will be the winner. Kristen, you may choose your first Pokemon."

Kristen took a deep breath. She had no idea what Koga was going to use, but she knew it would be poisonous. She decided to take Ricky's advice. "I choose you, Shiny!"

Her new Vulpix friend appeared in the arena. "Shiny, eh?" Koga asked with a slight turn of the head. "Go, Venonat!" he exclaimed.

Venonat and Shiny regarded each other. Kristen felt confident in her type advantage, but she knew Shiny may be a little underleveled. "Shiny, use Ember!" she ordered.

"Venonat, Psychic!" Koga said.

The attacks met, and Psychic overpowered Ember. Shiny took a direct hit and weakened. Kristen held her breath, instantly regretting the choice. But Shiny didn't faint. Kristen sighed in relief, and then she remembered an interesting move she'd seen on Shiny's Pokedex entry.

"Let's finish this, Venonat," said Koga. "Psy-"

"Disable!" Kristen shouted.

A strange glow emitted from Shiny and touched Venonat. Venonat tried to use Psychic, but it failed. Ricky and Jacob cheered from the mats.

"Well," Koga said, "that was unexpected."

"Ember, Shiny!" Kristen ordered.

"Dodge, and use Sleep Powder," said Koga.

Shiny was simply not as fast as Koga's Venonat, and Sleep Powder hit. Shiny fell asleep on the field. Kristen gave a slight groan and recalled Shiny. She knew exactly what Pokemon to use next. "Pidgeotto, I choose you!" she called. Pidgeotto appeared and chirped happily.

"I hope your strategy didn't backfire," said Koga.

"Hm?" Kristen said.

"You Disabled Venonat's Psychic, yes," said Koga, "leaving Sleep Powder one of our only options."

Kristen did have medicines if she needed, but she preferred to go without. She gulped. Koga was every bit as intimidating as she had expected, even if he seemed to be rooting for her. He also wasn't going to simply _let _her win.

"Pidgeotto, use Wing Attack!" Kristen ordered. Pidgeotto dove at Venonat.

"Toxic, Venonat," said Koga.

When Pidgeotto made contact with Venonat, poison seeped out of the bug Pokemon's body and infected Pidgeotto. Kristen grumbled, but she wasn't daunted. "Gust, Pidgeotto!"

Pidgeotto began flapping his wings, directing the air at Venonat. "Out of the way, Venonat!" Koga exclaimed.

Venonat escaped, but barely. Venonat was clearly on his last legs. Kristen saw her moment to strike. "Wing Attack, Pidgeotto!"

Pidgeotto dove again, and Koga waited until Pidgeotto was about to make contact before bellowing, "Psychic!"

Pidgeotto got blasted by a Psychic wave. Kristen gasped. "Disable has a limited run," he said. And this had clearly not been his first experience with Disable. He had timed it exactly.

"Venonat is unable to battle! Pidgeotto is the winner!" Yuma announced.

"Huh?" Kristen said. She had been so in her head that she hadn't realized Pidgeotto had still made the hit, and Venonat was out. Pidgeotto hovered in front of her. One Pokemon down. She still had Pidgeotto, Vulpix, and one more. Maybe this was winnable!

Pidgeotto coughed. Toxic, right. And Pidgeotto had taken a direct hit from Psychic, so he couldn't have much fight left. She recalled Pidgeotto. "Good job, buddy. Take a little rest."

"That's a shame," said Koga. "I was hoping to have an air battle. Although, I can't say I'd do differently in your shoes." He sent out his next Pokemon, Venomoth.

"Then I choose you...Pikachu!" Kristen announced. Pikachu appeared on the field. "Let's give him a Thunderbolt!"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed. Pikachu sent a hefty jolt of electricity to Venomoth, and the move hit.

"Psychic," said Koga.

"Dodge!" Kristen cried. But Pikachu couldn't dodge. Clearly, this was going to be a power battle. The two trainers exchanged Thunderbolts and Psychics until...

"Venomoth is unable to battle!" Yuma announced. "Pikachu wins!"

"Hm," said Koga, recalling his Venomoth. "Very impressive. What next?" He thought aloud, "Yes, my new friend, I think I choose you...ARIADOS!"

"Oooh," Jacob said. "A Johto Pokemon, in a Kanto gym?!"

"Why not?" Koga asked with a laugh. "It was a gift from my daughter, Janine. I do so wish that she were here to meet you, Kristen. I think you'd get along well."

The large spider Pokemon stared at Pikachu. Pikachu was tired, but Kristen wasn't going to pull him out, not with one opponent left. "Alright, Pikachu," said Kristen. "Let's do this. Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu's Thunderbolt never missed its mark. Ariados recoiled, but Koga was undaunted. "Giga Drain," he said.

The ground beneath Pikachu began to glow green, and Pikachu looked woozy. "Hang in there, Pikachu!" Kristen said. But it was no use. Pikachu had taken too much prior damage in his match with Venomoth, and he fainted.

"Pikachu is unable to battle. Ariados is the winner!" Yuma said.

"Don't give up, Kristen!" Ricky called. "Wake up Shiny!"

Kristen nodded and immediately swapped out Pikachu for Shiny. Koga allowed her to give Shiny an Awakening before resuming the battle. "Ariados, Double Team!"

Ariados multiplied around Shiny. The Vulpix looked around in confusion. "Don't worry, Shiny! Use Ember on all of them!"

Shiny gave a battle cry before starting to burn each one in turn.

"Giga Drain," Koga announced. Kristen held her breath as the real Ariados sucked Shiny's energy. Shiny wavered slightly.

"Haha! That's not a very effective move against Shiny!" Ricky said.

Jacob was watching the battle intently. "Yeah, but Shiny is much less experienced and has taken previous damage. I'm not so confident."

The extra Ariados disappeared, leaving only one on the battlefield. "Giga Drain again!" Koga called.

"Ember!" Kristen called.

The Ember that emitted from Shiny was the biggest Ember yet. Jacob gasped. "I think that was Incinerate!" he cried.

"I think you're right," said Ricky. "I knew Shiny would learn fast battling with Koga's Pokemon!"

"Shiny is unable to battle!" Yuma said. Ricky and Jacob groaned. During their excitement, Shiny had succumbed to the Giga Drain. Kristen recalled Shiny. "Good job, my friend! Alright, and now-"

Ariados' legs buckled, and he fell on his belly. Koga gasped. "No! Ariados!"

Yuma stepped forward to examine Ariados. "Ariados is unable to battle," she whispered, almost in disbelief.

"So it's a draw," said Kristen. "I still lost."

Yuma looked at her. "You still have a Pokemon! If it's conscious, then you've won!"

"Oh my gosh!" Kristen exclaimed. She frantically grabbed for Pidgeotto's Poke Ball. Ricky and Jacob stood up in solidarity. "Come on, Pidgeotto!"

Pidgeotto appeared and hovered weakly. He couldn't fly as high as he had before, but he was conscious. Koga clapped. "Congratulations, Kristen."

Ricky, Jacob, and Jigglypuff ran onto the field to congratulate her. Koga bowed again and handed her the Soul badge. She accepted it and bowed. Jigglypuff jumped up and down happily in front of Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto coughed, and Toxic overcame him. He fainted on the arena amid the celebration. Everyone paused and watched as it happened.

"I think a trip to the Pokemon Center is in order," Koga said simply.

* * *

"Phone call for Kristen Manx," Nurse Joy said. The three friends were drinking milkshakes and geeking out about how cool Koga and Yuma were when Nurse Joy's voice over the intercom interrupted them.

"We already called our parents," Kristen said. "Who could that be?" They brought their milkshakes into the main lobby and sat at a computer. Kristen accepted the call, and Sarah and Meowth appeared on the screen.

"Heyyyy!" Sarah said, and then seeing Jacob, turned a little pink. "Hey."

"Hi!" Jacob said happily. "I should get Skitty!"

"Did you hear that, Meowth? It's your girlfriend!" Sarah said in a baby voice. Meowth looked up at her and mewed. "Soooo how's Fuschia?"

"We all have Soul Badges!" Kristen announced. Sarah squealed and clapped. Skitty, newly released from her Poke Ball, looked around and then pawed at the screen.

"Sweeeeet!" Sarah said. "Hey, I wanted to ask you...and it's short notice, but...we have tickets to ride the S.S. Anne!"

"The S.S. Anne?!" Kristen exclaimed. "That big fancy cruise ship?!"

"That's the one," said Sarah. "We have four tickets. Luna was supposed to come, but something came up, and she can't go now. What are you doing next week?"

"Next week?!" Kristen exclaimed. "Well, gosh, that _is _short notice. I don't know, I mean, I'd love to, but I need to ask my parents, of course."

"Right," said Sarah. "Call me when you get home, then. Wow, that makes, what, four badges for you?"

"That's right," said Kristen. "And we've decided we're gonna go for it. We're going to get the rest of our badges before the Indigo League this year."

"Woah! Can you do that?" Sarah asked.

"We don't know!" laughed Kristen. "But we're going to try! I was hoping you'd try too! You and Luna got the Boulder and Cascade badges, right?"

"That's right," said Sarah. "Hey, we can go for the Vermilion gym next week!"

Kristen looked at Jacob and Ricky tentatively. "Go for it," Ricky encouraged. "Jacob and I can hit it up another time."

"Are you sure?" Kristen asked.

"Yeah! Hey, you can tell us how it is when you do!" Jacob added.

"Meow-meow!" Skitty said to Meowth. Meowth rubbed his face against the screen, and the girls melted.

"Okay, well, I'll let you go," said Sarah. "Hopefully I'll see you next week!"

"Alright!" Kristen said. "Goodbye!"

"Say goodbye, Meowth," Sarah instructed her Pokemon.

"Meowth?"

Sarah took Meowth's paw and made him wave before ending the call. Kristen picked up Jigglypuff. "Gosh, another gym, already next week! I don't know if I can handle it."

"Stahhhhp it," said Ricky. "You just beat Koga. You can handle plenty."

"Thanks," said Kristen. "I still think a lot of that battle was luck. Ariados was at a pretty major disadvantage."

"Shiny was pretty disadvantaged being a brand new Pokemon," said Jacob, "and she pulled through!"

Skitty was staring at the blank screen sadly. "Meow?" she asked Jacob.

"It's okay, Skitty," said Jacob. "You'll see Meowth again."

"Say, what is up with you and that girl?" Ricky asked.

"Huh? Nothing," said Jacob. "Our Pokemon like each other, so we meet up in Saffron sometimes."

"Wait," said Kristen. "You and Sarah? I didn't know that!"

"And our moms, so, you know," said Jacob. "It's not a date!"

Kristen and Ricky exchanged glances then laughed. "Nobody said it was!" Kristen pointed out, and Jacob blushed.

"Hey," said Ricky. "I bet Kristen has a crush on Koga now too!"

"Ewww, no, he's old!" Kristen exclaimed.

"What, and Lance isn't?" Jacob laughed. "I don't understand the rules!"

Kristen groaned and bent down to pick up her milkshake. "Hey, hold on," she said, picking up the empty glass. "I don't remember finishing this."

Ricky and Jacob bent down and examined their glasses. "What the," they said. Their glasses had also been emptied. Jigglypuff burped.

"Wow," said Kristen. "Not cool, Jigglypuff! If you were hungry, you should have just said so!"

"Jiggly..." Jigglypuff lowered her head in shame.

"I think karma will catch up to Jigglypuff on that one, " said Jacob. He yawned. "Goodness, what time is it?"

"Not _that_ late," said Ricky, but he also yawned. "Ehh, whatever, let's get to bed. We have to catch the train early tomorrow."

So the three friends went to their rooms, each dreaming of the Indigo League.


	8. Let it Snorunt

Kristen and Jigglypuff sat in the stands watching Sarah fight Surge. Sarah's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Soffner, sat beside her, and they were asking a million questions. They evidently had no background with Pokemon. Sarah was using a Sandshrew, which was proving super effective against Surge's electric types.

"Okay, so that little guy can dig," said Mrs. Soffner, "and then the army guy can't attack?"

"Basically," said Kristen. "It's a strategy for dodging attacks. But since Surge uses electric types, it also doubles as a super effective attack against him."

"Oh, so she should win," said Mrs. Soffner.

"Well," Kristen sighed, "there's more to it than that. But Sandshew is doing well."

"Can it do that BOOM CRACK thing?" Mr. Soffner asked.

"Boom...crack...thing," Kristen repeated.

"You know, Nidoqueen's grand finale move!" Mr. Soffner continued.

"OH!" Kristen laughed. "Earthquake. I'm not sure if Sarah's Sandslash knows Earthquake yet."

Evolving Nidorina to Nidoqueen before going to Vermilion had ended up being a slam dunk decision. Kristen lead with Shiny against Voltorb, and then Nidoqueen decimated Surge's Pikachu and Raichu. Sarah was trying to mimic Kristen's strategy, but Sandshrew wasn't as strong a Pokemon as Nidoqueen who was easily Kristen's new trump card Pokemon. Kristen suspected that Sarah would have to switch to a new Pokemon soon.

Sarah's Sandshrew was facing Surge's Electrode. It's main move against Sandshrew was Swift, which typically attacked before Sandshrew could Dig. Sandshrew was getting weak, but he did manage to faint Electrode. Kristen and the Soffners cheered.

"A commendable show. I like your spirit," said Surge. "Let's see how you handle this!"

Surge sent out Magnemite. "Well, that's a stupid Pokemon," said Mrs. Soffner.

"Shhhh!" Kristen said, trying not to laugh. Magnemite was definitely not what she'd call a _cute _Pokemon, but it was the first one she'd ever seen, and it was kinda cool to see a sentient, floating steel magnet ball. Magnemite led with a Supersonic attack, leaving Sandshrew confused. Sandshrew scratched itself and fainted.

"What the hell was that?!" Mrs. Soffner cried.

"SHHHHH!" pleaded Kristen and Mr. Soffner.

"But I don't get it! Why'd it do that?" Mrs. Soffner pressed.

Kristen hadn't seen Supersonic used before, but she recognized the signs in Sandshrew. "The attack Magnemite used made Sandshrew confused," Kristen explained. "When Pokemon are confused, they sometimes hurt themselves. I'm not sure why they do it."

"That's dumb," huffed Mrs. Soffner.

Sarah was contemplating which Pokemon to send out next. Sandshrew was the only one Sarah had that had a type advantage against Surge, and she had to beat two more of his Pokemon. She reached into her bag. "Meowth, I choose you!" she declared.

"Oh no," groaned Mrs. Soffner.

"Hey, Meowth has been getting better," said Kristen.

"Meowth, use Slash!" Sarah ordered.

Meowth lunged at Magnemite with outrageously long claws bared. Kristen wondered how much Meowth's claw could really damage a steel Pokemon, but he hit, and Magnemite backed off before firing an enormous bolt of lightning at Meowth. Meowth took a direct hit.

"Ouch," Kristen said. But Meowth was still standing.

"Assurance," said Sarah.

"What's that move?" Mrs. Soffner asked.

Kristen wasn't familiar with it. It appeared to be another physical attack. Meowth lunged forward at Magnemite.

"Thunder Wave," said Surge.

Meowth was hit with the beam, and he dropped to the ground, paralyzed. Sarah groaned.

"Useless creature," Mrs. Soffner commented.

Sarah switched out Meowth. "Ekans, I choose you!" she declared. Ekans appeared on the field. Kristen felt Mrs. Soffner shift uncomfortably next to her. It was well known that Mrs. Soffner hated Ekans more than Meowth, and she _really_ wasn't a Meowth fan. "Ekans, use Poison Jab!" Sarah said.

Ekans projectile vomited steamy poison onto Magnemite. Magnemite shook the poison off, but it was showing signs of slowing down. Surge ordered a Thunderbolt attack. Sarah ordered Ekans to dodge, but the snake wasn't fast enough and took the hit.

"No matter! Follow it up with Bite!" Sarah declared. Ekans sprung up with fangs bared and dug into Magnemite. The sound of fangs piercing steel made the spectators cringe. When Ekans released Magnemite, the Magnet Pokemon fell.

"Incredible!" Surge exclaimed. "I am enjoying this battle immensely! Time to kick it up another notch!" He recalled Magnemite and sent out his next Pokemon, an Electabuzz. He didn't wait for Sarah to move first as he had before. "Electabuzz, use Thunderbolt!"

"Poison Jab!" Sarah cried. Ekans belched acid missiles again as Electabuzz fired lightning. The Thunderbolt won out, and Ekans was down.

"Oh no," Kristen whimpered. "That leaves only Meowth."

"What?" Mr. Soffner said. "She can't use more Pokemon? She has more!"

"It's a three Pokemon battle," said Kristen. "That's the rules of the gym. You can't just use an unlimited number of Pokemon."

"Oh no," Mrs. Soffner echoed.

Oh no was right. Using Meowth was always a gamble anyways. While recalling Meowth allowed Sarah to heal him of his paralysis, he was no match for Electabuzz. With a couple more Thunderbolt zaps, Surge had defeated Sarah.

"You gave me a run for it, little lady," said Surge. "You should be proud. I'll be looking forward to our rematch." He extended a hand to her, and she took it.

"I'll be back stronger," Sarah said like it was nothing. Kristen snuggled Jigglypuff and marveled at her friend's confidence. Even Ricky had thrown a little fit when he lost to Koga. Sarah truly just enjoyed the game.

Mr. and Mrs. Soffner thanked Surge for their time, and Kristen said goodbye to him again.

"You're trying to enter the Indigo League this year, aren't you?" Surge asked.

"That's right," said Kristen. "If we can."

"With that Nidoqueen of yours, I have no doubt you'll make a good show," said Surge. "Sarah, you've trained your Pokemon well. Once one or two of them evolve, I imagine you'll be just as formidable."

"Come along, girls," said Mrs. Soffner. "The S.S. Anne won't wait for us!"

"Enjoy your trip!" Surge said.

* * *

They grabbed their luggage and headed to the dock. There was a long line to board, and Sarah grumbled that there was no reason for them to just stand there waiting.

"Let's get ice cream," Sarah suggested.

"There's an ice cream machine on the boat," said Mrs. Soffner. "We're not giving up our place in line."

"We can go while you guys stand in line," said Sarah.

"With what money?" Mr. Soffner asked.

Sarah smiled sweetly, and Mr. Soffner sighed and opened his wallet.

"Frank!" Mrs. Soffner protested.

"What? There's a stand just around the corner," said Mr. Soffner. "And it's hot out here."

Before he could fish out enough bills for the girls, gasps and shouts erupted from the others in line. Kristen and the Soffners looked in the direction everyone was pointing to see a huge Lapras rolling in beside the S.S. Anne.

"Oh. My. Gosh!" Kristen gushed. "That thing is amazing!"

"I want one!" Sarah squealed.

The Lapras stopped right by the dock where people were boarding the S.S. Anne. A red-haired woman stepped off the Lapras and onto the dock, then recalled Lapras into a Poke Ball.

"Is she cutting in line?!" Mrs. Soffner exclaimed.

"She's obviously someone important," said Mr. Soffner.

"Oh my gosh," said Sarah. "Kristen, is that Lorelei?"

"Lorelei? From the Elite Four?" Kristen asked.

"That was definitely Lorelei," said a boy about their age behind them. He had a mop of curly brown hair and was wearing sunglasses and licking a chocolate ice cream cone.

"Well, I don't think it's okay that just because you're an Extra Four and have a fancy Pokemon that you get to cut in line," said Mrs. Soffner.

The boy laughed. "_Elite _Four. It's not fair, but it's Lorelei."

The line started to move. "Finally!" said Mrs. Soffner.

"Hey," said the boy, tapping Kristen on the shoulder. Jigglypuff glared at him from over Kristen's shoulder.

"Hey," said Kristen. "What do you want?"

"I'm a Jigglypuff fan too," he said.

Kristen softened. "Really?! Most boys make fun of my Jigglypuff."

"That's silly," said the boy. "Jigglypuff is great!" He took a Poke Ball off his belt and released a Wigglytuff.

"That's not a Jigglypuff," said Kristen.

"It was," said the boy. "I just evolved him. I call him Sir Wigglesworth."

"He's awesome!" said Kristen. Sir Wigglesworth was much taller than Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff regarded the Pokemon curiously. Sir Wigglesworth bowed.

"He's a big flirt," said the boy, half-apologetically.

"Wigglytuff! Wiggly Wiggly!" Sir Wigglesworth said to Jigglypuff.

"Jiggly..." Jigglypuff responded with a frown.

"I don't think Jigglypuff is buying it," Sarah laughed.

The boy patted his Pokemon on the head. "Tough luck, buddy. Next time." He recalled Sir Wigglesworth. "We should battle later," he suggested.

"I think Jigglypuff would like that," Kristen agreed. "What's your name?"

"Harold," said the boy. "I'm going to be in the Indigo League this year."

"Oh yeah? Then we'll see you there," said Kristen.

"Oh! So you have eight badges too?" he asked excitedly.

"Ehhh, not quite," said Kristen. "I just got my...fifth badge."

"I have three," said Sarah sheepishly.

"Ah," said Harold. "Well, too bad. We'll have to settle for a cruise battle."

"My friends and I are trying to make it this year so we can fight our rival in the League," said Kristen.

"That's gonna be tough," said Harold. "It took me two years to get eight badges."

"Kristen has this _amazing _Nidoqueen!" Sarah gushed. "It completely decimated Surge!"

"It goes Boom Crack," Mr. Soffner interjected.

"Boom Crack?" Harold asked.

"Dad," Sarah groaned.

* * *

They learned that Harold had come by himself to meet his girlfriend or something on the ship, which surprised the girls, because they were pretty sure he'd been flirting with them. They parted with Harold and immediately sought out the ice cream machine as the Soffners took their luggage to their cabin.

They located the cafeteria, a huge room staffed by people in sailor suits and some Chansey. Since there weren't many people eating, a couple of older kids were battling in the middle with a Pichu and a Zigzagoon, and nobody seemed to pay them any mind. On one side of the cafe was a bar, and on the other was the ice cream machine. Despite Jigglypuff's desire to go check out the battle, Kristen and Sarah made a bee line for the holy grail.

"Unlimited ice cream," Sarah said as she grabbed the biggest bowl. "This is awesome!"

The sound of high heels clicking against the floor drew Kristen's attention to the fact that Lorelei was headed in their direction. Kristen let out an involuntary squeal. "Don't freak out, but Lorelei is coming right towards us!" she whispered.

"WHAT?!" Sarah cried, nearly dropping her bowl.

Because the girls were being so discreet, Lorelei realized that Kristen and Sarah were talking about her. "Hi," said Lorelei. "Nice Jigglypuff."

"Thanks," Kristen said weakly, trying to act like it was nothing. She reached for an ice cream bowl.

"Jiggly!"

"Your Lapras is amazing and I want one just like it and also your high heels and hair!" Sarah blurted.

"Is this ice cream machine unlimited?" Lorelei asked.

"I don't know," said Sarah. "If not, it goes on Dad's tab."

Lorelei giggled. "He better keep an eye on you two," she said. "I'm stocking up on ice for my new Pokemon."

"A new Pokemon?" Kristen asked.

"It came from Hoenn," said Lorelei. "Where are you girls from?"

"Viridian," said Kristen.

"Celadon-ish," Sarah said.

"Ever see a Snorunt?" Lorelei asked.

"No! What's that?" Kristen asked.

"Come with me," Lorelei said.

Kristen and Sarah froze in place as Lorelei scooped ice into a bucket. Lorelei started walking away, then turned around and beckoned for the girls.

"Can...we...bring our ice cream?" Sarah asked.

"Uh-huh," said Lorelei.

"Well, then, okay!" Sarah exclaimed.

* * *

They followed Lorelei through the halls awkwardly eating their ice cream. Lorelei continued to make small talk with them to make them feel more comfortable. She asked them how they met, and she confessed to suspecting they were the girls from the Silph Co incident she'd watched on TV.

"Your Jigglypuff is kind of iconic," Lorelei said. "Reminds me of a boy that once ran around here with a Pikachu." She came to her room, which was obviously in the elite section of the ship. The doors were farther apart, suggesting bigger rooms. Lorelei slid her key card, and the girls followed her inside to a suite.

"There's a giant bathtub!" Sarah gushed.

"There's a tiny kitchen!" Kristen squealed.

"This giant bathtub is about to be a giant ice tub," said Lorelei. She turned on the cold water and emptied the bucket of ice. Then, she picked up a Poke Ball from her end table and released the Pokemon.

"Snowwww!"

Snorunt was one of the weirdest Pokemon they'd ever seen. It was smaller than Jigglypuff, and its body was covered with a straw coat. It had tiny blue eyes and a huge, sad mouth.

"Awww," Sarah said.

Lorelei picked up Snorunt and put it in the ice tub. When its feet hit the ice, it squealed happily, and its frown turned upside down. Jigglypuff hopped onto the ledge and regarded the foreign Pokemon. Snorunt picked up an ice cube and chucked it at Jigglypuff, then laughed. Jigglypuff looked to Kristen for a battle instruction, but Kristen picked up her Pokemon and offered her a spoonful of ice cream.

Lorelei's phone rang. She smiled at the girls and picked it up. As she talked to the person on the other line, her tone changed from light and easy to concern. When she hung up, both Kristen and Sarah had turned their attention to her.

"I'm sorry," said Lorelei. "I've gotta go."

"Gotta go?" Kristen asked.

"Yeah," said Lorelei. She picked up Snorunt's Poke Ball, but then she put it down. "Hey, do you two want to watch over Snorunt for me?"

"Sure," Kristen said quickly. "How long will you be gone?"

"I'm not sure," said Lorelei. "But I have faith in you two." Sarah coughed, and a marshmallow popped back out of her mouth. "Just make sure you let Snorunt play in ice whenever you let her out."

"Aww, it's a girl Snorunt!" Sarah said. "Oh! That means it can evolve into Froslass!"

"Very good! Yes, my goal is to raise this Snorunt to be a Froslass," said Lorelei. "See? You sure know your Pokemon!" She looked at the time and sighed. "Okay, I'll find you when I get back. Good luck!"

After Lorelei left, they let Snorunt play in the tub until the ice all melted, and then they put her back in her Poke Ball before leaving Lorelei's room.

"So, back to the ice cream machine?" Sarah suggested.

"Maybe we should eat some real food?" Kristen countered.

"Ice cream _is_ real food!" Sarah exclaimed. "Bah, fine! We should probably tell my mom and dad about Snorunt."

"Why, hello, ladies."

"Harold," Sarah and Kristen said simultaneously and with suspicion. What was Harold doing in the fancy hall?

"They opened the buffet," said Harold. "Heading to dinner?"

"Uhh," said Sarah. "Where's your girlfriend?"

Harold looked at the floor. "She dumped me."

"WHAT?!" the girls replied.

"Yeah," said Harold. "So I don't have a cabin now."

"What...are you doing?" Kristen asked tentatively.

"Wandering," said Harold. "Are you guys actually staying in the rich people wing?"

"Nah," said Sarah. "We're wandering too."

"Cool," said Harold. "Mind if I wander with you?"

"Well, we're going back to find my parents," said Sarah. "But I guess you can tag along."

It seemed they had mutually decided not to tell Harold they had just spent the last half hour with Lorelei and had just been entrusted with her Pokemon. On their way back to the Soffner's cabin, they learned Harold was from Vermilion and had been on the S.S. Anne multiple times.

"There are lots of places to hide on this ship," said Harold.

"You seem like you've done this before," said Sarah. "I bet you didn't even have a girlfriend. I bet you snuck on."

"No," said Harold, "I have a ticket. I just don't have a cabin anymore."

"Who was this girl?" Kristen asked.

"Her name's Emma," said Harold. "She got mad at me because I wanted to try to find Lorelei. She doesn't understand why it matters."

"Lorelei is _amazing!" _Sarah said.

"I know, right?" Harold said. "And my goal is to be on an Elite Four one day, so I just wanted to meet her. But Emma didn't want me to leave the cabin."

"So she kicked you out of the cabin. Makes sense," said Kristen.

Harold laughed. He really didn't seem that broken up about Emma. Kristen looked at Sarah. They might as well tell him. It seemed like he would be hanging around anyways.

"We...met Lorelei," said Sarah.

"No way!" Harold gasped.

"Yeah, we're watching one of her Pokemon," said Sarah. She reached into her bag and pulled out Snorunt's Poke Ball. "It's a Snorunt."

Harold looked from Sarah to the Poke Ball. "Prove it," he said.

"What?" asked Sarah.

"Why would Lorelei give you her Snorunt?" Harold asked.

"Honestly, I don't know, but she did," said Sarah.

"That's what we were doing in the fancy hall," said Kristen.

Now it was Harold's turn to be suspicious. "Are you guys related to her or something?"

"No," said Kristen. "We met her by the ice cream machine, and then she wanted to show us Snorunt, and then she got a weird phone call and said she had to leave and left us Snorunt."

"That's crazy," said Harold. "I still don't believe you."

Kristen shrugged. "Alright then. Don't believe us."

* * *

They arrived at the Soffner's cabin. Mr. and Mrs. Soffner had already been to the buffet, so Kristen, Sarah, and Harold went down on their own. They loaded up on pizza, garlic toast, tacos, and of course, more ice cream. In the center of the cafeteria was a small battle floor where they'd seen the older kids battling earlier. Now, two older gentlemen were fighting with a Happiny and a Treecko. Kristen flashed back to when Nurse Joy had yelled at Ricky and Braden for battling in the Cerulean cafeteria.

"So, you're allowed to just have a battle during dinner?" Kristen asked.

"Oh yeah," said Harold. "There's another battling arena on the top floor, too. Pokemon trainers use the S.S. Anne to sharpen their skills. Wanna go?"

Before Kristen could answer, Sarah said, "Yeah! I need to train up to beat Surge!"

"Alright, get ready," said Harold. "I won't hold back."

"Good," said Sarah.

After eating way too much food, Harold and Sarah took to the floor. Sarah sent out Butterfree, and Harold sent out Sir Wigglesworth.

"This battle is going to be too cute!" Kristen gushed.

"Puff!" agreed Jigglypuff.

"Butterfree, use Bug Buzz!" Sarah ordered.

"Sir Wigglesworth, Blizzard!" Harold countered.

The entire cafeteria gasped as Sir Wigglesworth unleashed a concentrated snowstorm in the center of the room. Kristen heard a strange pop and flash of light come from Sarah's bag when Blizzard began, but her attention was drawn back to the battle when Sarah cried in alarm. Butterfree had fallen in one hit. Jigglypuff's mouth was hanging open.

"That's what we need, Jigglypuff," said Kristen.

"Jiggly?"

" A move that can knock out Dragonair in one blow!"

"Jiggly!"

"OH NO!" Sarah cried.

"Hey, it's okay," said Harold. "That was a jerk move on my part. I expected your Butterfree to be stronger."

"Shut up," said Sarah. "Snorunt is gone!"

"What?" asked Harold. "You lost Lorelei's Snorunt? How?"

"I don't know! But here's it's Poke Ball," said Sarah, holding out an open ball. Kristen saw it and gasped. The strange pop _had _sounded suspiciously like a Pokemon being released from a Poke Ball. She picked up Jigglypuff and ran to her friends.

"What happened? Where's Snorunt?" Kristen asked.

"Jiggly?"

"I don't know! She loves snow! She must have popped out during the Blizzard!" Sarah said.

"Well, she couldn't have gone far," said Kristen.

"Hey, kids, off the floor," said a disgruntled woman with a spiky haircut. "Your turn is up!"

Kristen and Harold grumbled and moved, but Sarah stood up on a table, inhaled, and yelled, "HAS ANYONE SEEN A SNORUNT?!" About five people in the cafeteria held up Snorunts. Sarah bit her lip in frustration. "...THAT ISN'T YOURS?!"

The five Snorunts were lowered. Kristen beckoned Sarah to get down. "It's obviously drawn to cold," Kristen said. "Ice cream machine?"

"Good place to start," Harold agreed.

Upon arriving at the ice cream machine, the first thing Harold did was grab a waffle cone and start filling it. The girls rolled their eyes and looked around. Kristen opened the ice box, but Snorunt wasn't in there.

"I could keep having Sir Wigglesworth use Blizzard until it shows," said Harold.

"I'm sure everyone here would appreciate that," said Sarah sarcastically. "What else in this room is cold?"

Harold started loading up on sprinkles, and a handful fell to the floor and rolled. One got close to an air vent and blew back to Kristen's feet. "The vents!" she said. "They're spitting out cold air! It's a Snorunt's dream!"

"Oh no, I hope she isn't trying to go into the vents!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Hey," said a man who approached them, "were you kids looking for a Snorunt?"

"Yes!" Sarah said.

He pointed. "Could that be it?" They followed his finger to the vent on the opposite wall. The grate had been removed, and two little feet were climbing inside.

"NOOOOO! Snorunt return, Snorunt return, Snorunt return!" Sarah huffed as she ran across the cafeteria, Poke Ball held out in front of her. Unfortunately, someone had released a shiny Minccino into the arena, and everyone was scrambling to get a look. A crowd blocked Sarah as she tried to reach Snorunt. By the time she made it across, Snorunt was deep in the ventilation system of the S.S. Anne.

"Return return return!" Sarah cried, thrusting her arm as deep into the vent as possible. "Ugh! We're doomed!"

"Hold on," said Harold. "We'll get it out! Snooooooorunt!" He called into the vent. Snorunt answered with an Ice Shard to the face. "Ow," said Harold, rubbing his nose. "Kristen, any ideas? Hey, where is she?"

Kristen was standing on a table looking at the battle over the crowd's heads. "There's a shiny!" she squealed.

"Kristen," said Sarah.

"Right, sorry," said Kristen. She climbed back off the table. "Ummm, should we send in another Pokemon to faint it and pull it out?"

"Sure," said Sarah. "It's only Lorelei's Pokemon. Can't be too hard."

"Chingling, I choose you!" Harold said as he casually tossed a Poke Ball into the air. A bell with a face popped out.

"What the heck is that?" Kristen asked.

"Chingling," said Harold. "I got it in a trade last time I was on the S.S. Anne. Cute, isn't it?"

"Chingling! Chingling!" the tiny Pokemon chirped.

"It is cute," agreed Kristen.

"Chingling," said Harold, "go into here and look for another Pokemon. It's called a Snorunt. We need you to bring it back out. Do you think you can do that?"

Chingling peaked into the vent, said "Chingling," and disappeared.

"And now we wait," said Harold. "Anyone feeling nachos?"

"You're kidding," said Kristen, clutching her overfull stomach.

"There were nachos?" Sarah asked. "Where?!"

Harold and Sarah walked back to the buffet while Kristen waited by the vent. She began to shiver.

* * *

Mr. and Mrs. Soffner were not concerned about the whereabouts of Sarah and her new friend. They had booked a couples massage for the night. They arrived at the spa and changed into robes. Relaxing music played as the two masseuses began to work their shoulders and backs.

"It's kind of cold in here," said Mrs. Soffner. "Frank, do you think it's cold in here?"

"Actually, now that you mention it," said Mr. Soffner. "Can you turn up the heat at all?"

The female masseuse looked at the thermostat in confusion. "It should be a steady temperature," she said, "but it does seem much colder." As she bumped up the temperature a smidge, a snowflake landed on her nose. "What the..."

* * *

It was snowing in the cafeteria. Sarah and Harold returned to the vent with a communal plate of nachos as the rest of the people shuffled about wondering what the heck was going on.

"Well," said Harold, "I see Chingling isn't back."

"We should tell an adult what happened," said Kristen. "It's a Pokemon cruise. This can't be the first time something like this has happened. They probably have a protocol or something."

Sarah detached a Poke Ball from her belt. "It's Lorelei's Snorunt. It's probably strong. Chingling needs reinforcements. Go, Ekans!"

"Guys, are we sure sending in more Pokemon is a good idea?" Kristen asked.

"Ekans, go find Chingling and Snorunt and bring them back!" Sarah said.

"Ekanssssssss," said Ekans. The snake Pokemon slithered into the vent.

"Now what?" Kristen said in exasperation.

Harold handed her a nacho.

* * *

"Attention S.S. Anne passengers," said the lady on the loudspeaker. "We are aware of the problem with the air conditioning and are investigating the issue. We will be docking at Cinnabar Island within the hour and encourage all of our passengers to enjoy the island as we work on fixing the issue. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Your comfort is our number one priority on the S.S. Anne! Please be assured that we are working on the issue. Please refrain from talking to the staff unless it is an emergency. I repeat, we are aware of the air conditioning issue and are investigating. Thank you!"

"Funny how nobody realizes we're sitting here by an open vent," said Harold with a shrug.

"Just three kids eating nachos," said Sarah. "Nothing to see here."

Ekans emerged from out of the vent, carrying a frozen block of Chingling on its tail. Sarah peered in, hoping to see Snorunt following, but she only got a puff of snow to the face.

"Dang," said Harold. "That is a tough Snorunt!"

Sarah sighed. "Guess we _should _tell somebody," she admitted. "Good job, Ekans." She recalled Ekans.

"Yeah," said Harold, digging through his bag for an Ice Heal.

Kristen took a Poke Ball off her belt. "One more try," she said.

"One more try?" Sarah repeated. "But earlier, you were all about telling an adult!"

"Yeah, but as Harold just said, nobody is paying any attention to us," said Kristen. "And they literally just said not to bug them. You really think they'd stop for three kids?" Sarah and Harold had no response for that. "Shiny," said Kristen, "I choose you!"

Shiny the regular Vulpix materialized. "Vulll!"

"Why is it called...?" Harold started.

"Long story," said Kristen. "Shiny, go heat things up in the vent!"

"Vullll!" Shiny answered with determination. The Vulpix climbed into the vent.

"Type advantage," said Harold. "If this doesn't work, I don't think anything will!" He returned the newly healed Chingling to its Poke Ball and reached for another nacho, but the plate was empty. "Hey, uhhh, were the nachos really all gone?"

Jigglypuff burped.

"Ahhhh, Jigglypuff! Why?" Kristen asked.

"Well, food is included in the ticket price, so I guess Jigglypuff can stuff its face just as much as we can," Harold laughed.

Kristen picked up Jigglypuff. "Let's get you cleaned up," she said to her Pokemon. She took Jigglypuff across the cafeteria to get some napkins. She thought the snow might be already slowing down, but then shook her head. It had to be in her imagination.

* * *

After the snow melted in the cafeteria, Sarah, who had been leaning against the vent, felt something tickling her back. With a small squeal, she got up to reveal Shiny's tail. Shiny dragged Snorunt out of the vent in a puddle of water.

"Oh my gosh! Shiny! You did it!" Kristen exclaimed.

"Vulll!" Shiny agreed, wagging her tail.

Sarah quickly picked up Snorunt and healed Lorelei's Pokemon. One of the workers stopped in front of them, saw the kids with the Pokemon, and shook her head, admonishing them for battling at a time like this. "Sorry," they said together. The crew member put the grate back on the vent and sighed. "And now it's getting hot?!" the crew member said. "How is this possible?"

"It's a mystery," Kristen said, picking up Shiny and hugging her. "Good job, Shiny. You deserve a long rest."

"We should go back to my parents' cabin," said Sarah. "Ummm, Harold?"

"I'll be fine," said Harold. "It was fun hanging out with you girls today."

"Yeah, thanks for..." Kristen didn't finish her sentence because the crew member was still fiddling with the vent. "Thanks for the battle!"

"Right," said Harold. "We'll have a rematch soon. Have a good night!"

"Goodnight, Harold!" Sarah said. "Oh, it really is hot in here now. Better put Snorunt away. She's had quite enough excitement."

"Yeah, wow," said Kristen. Sarah recalled Snorunt, and then they giggled as they walked back to their cabin.

* * *

"Ri-dic-u-lous!" Mrs. Soffner cried as she plopped down onto her bed and threw the blanket off her.

"It's okay," said Mr. Soffner. "These things happen."

"They really don't know what caused it?" Mrs. Soffner scoffed. "Something fishy is going on here! First it's cold, then it's hot..."

"I thought the snow was kind of fun," said Sarah, holding Snorunt safely on her lap. Shiny sat with Kristen, her tail wrapped around her body like a little furry ball.

"Snowwwww!" Snorunt agreed.

"Well, I'm not so sure about this ship," said Mrs. Soffner. "We should have gotten off at Cinnabar and gone back home."

"But I told you!" Sarah said. "We have to wait for Lorelei to come back for her Snorunt!"

"Yeah, yeah," said Mrs. Soffner. "Kinda fishy that she left right before everything started to go crazy, don't you think?"

"Oh my gosh, Mom," said Sarah.

"It does make me wonder where she went, though," said Kristen.

Mr. Soffner looked at the time. "Well, girls, time to put the Pokemon away and get some sleep."

"Awwwww," said Sarah. She reluctantly recalled Snorunt, and Kristen recalled Shiny. Sarah crawled under the covers of their bed while Kristen set up Jigglypuff's bed beside them, a pink sunken pillow with a floral blanket.

"Ummm," said Mrs. Soffner.

"I told you," said Sarah, "Kristen's Jigglypuff doesn't go into a Poke Ball."

Mrs. Soffner grunted and rolled over.

* * *

The S.S. Anne was on its way to Olivine City. Kristen and the Soffners hit up the breakfast buffet together. Harold was already there sitting behind a pile of pancakes. He waved to them.

"Hey, Harold!" the girls called.

Harold winked. It didn't seem that he'd made up with his girlfriend. "Wonder where he slept last night?" Kristen whispered to Sarah as they made their way to the buffet.

Sarah shrugged. "You really think Lorelei isn't here yet?"

"I mean, we haven't seen her," said Kristen. "Let's go back to her room after breakfast. We can bring Harold."

"Good idea!" agreed Sarah. They filled plates with fruit, eggs, bacon, and waffles, and then they joined Sarah's parents at a table. Sarah looked over her shoulder at Harold all alone. "HEY, HAROLD!" she called. Harold turned around, and Sarah beckoned for him to join them. He grinned and picked up his plate.

"Who is this?" Mrs. Soffner asked.

"It's Harold," said Kristen, as if that were all the explanation needed.

Harold sat down and began talking to the Soffners as if he'd known them for years, the same as he had done with Kristen and Sarah. He had a knack for making friends. Kristen imagined he'd be just fine without this Emma, whoever she was.

When breakfast was over, the Soffners went to cash in their voucher for a couples massage since their first one had gotten snowed out. The three kids headed over to the fancy hall. They knocked on Lorelei's door, but she didn't seem to be there.

"I'm kind of worried now," said Sarah. "What if something happened and she's not coming back? What if she's hurt...or worse!"

"Don't say that," said Kristen.

"Maybe that's the real reason why she left us Snorunt!" Sarah exclaimed.

But the door opened, and Lorelei stood there in pajama pants, a Lapras t-shirt, and her hair undone. "Hey," she yawned. "Sorry about that. I had a long night. Is Snorunt okay?"

"Yep," Sarah said. "Everything's fine!" She handed the Poke Ball back to Lorelei.

"Good," said Lorelei, taking it. "Thanks so much for watching her! Hold on a minute...oh! Who is your friend?"

Harold was standing with mouth agape, his natural charm apparently disabled in Lorelei's presence. "This is Harold," said Kristen. "He really wanted to meet you. He's a Pokemon trainer too. Tell her, Harold."

"Yeah," was all he managed to say.

Lorelei smiled. "Well, thank you," she said. "The world needs more honest trainers like you. You know, as you kids grow up, you'll find that not everyone treats Pokemon with the same respect." Her expression betrayed some experience that she wasn't sharing with the kids. "Stay here a minute. I have something I want to give you." She closed the door, and they heard some shuffling inside the suite before she returned holding a dark blue egg in an incubator. "I wish I had one for both of you, but I'm sure you can decide who will take care of this Pokemon."

"Lorelei!" the girls gasped.

"I'm sure you realized, I have my hands full with Snorunt," said Lorelei. "This baby Pokemon needs a good home. I'm confident one of you can provide that."

"Lorelei, wait," Sarah said. "We can't accept this."

"What do you mean?" Lorelei asked.

Sarah looked at Kristen, who knew exactly what Sarah was feeling. "Lorelei, we actually had an incident with Snorunt."

"Oh?"

"She escaped and went into the ventilation system," said Sarah. "Kristen had to send in her Vulpix to get her out, but Snorunt made the whole ship snow! So we're not as cool as you think we are, sorry!"

Lorelei crossed her arms, and the girls prepared for a scolding. But instead, she laughed. The girls looked up in fear and confusion. "Oh, I know all about that!"

"You do?!" the kids asked.

"When I caught up with the S.S. Anne in Cinnabar Island, it was all anyone was talking about," said Lorelei. "I knew it had to be Snorunt! But it sounds like you handled it fine! All the more reason for me to trust this egg with you!"

"Uhhh," said Sarah, taking the egg. "Wow. Thanks!"

"I look forward to getting the chance to battle you all one day," said Lorelei. "Perhaps I'll meet whatever Pokemon is inside this egg!" It was the girls' turn to be speechless. "Well, I'll be seeing you around, I suppose. I'd like to get cleaned up now, if you don't mind."

"Uh-huh," they said.

Lorelei closed the door. "I want to be in the Elite Four one day!" Harold said.

"Moment's passed, Harold," said Kristen.

Harold turned bright red, and the girls laughed at his expense.

* * *

It was their last night together on the S.S. Anne. Kristen, Sarah, and Harold stood on the dock watching the cities of Kanto go by: Cinnabar, Pallet Town, Fuschia.

"We should keep in touch after this," said Harold.

"Definitely!" agreed Kristen.

"What's next for you girls?" Harold asked.

"I'm going to continue collecting gym badges," said Kristen. "Harold, you've got them all. Should I do Saffron or Cinnabar next?"

"Hm," said Harold. "Considering you've got a Nidoqueen, Cinnabar may be the way to go."

"I need to challenge Surge again!" said Sarah. "Do you think I can do it? None of my Pokemon evolved yet."

"You were close enough the first time," said Kristen. "I'd try it."

"Jigglypuff!" Kristen's Pokemon poked at their legs. "Jiggly! Jigglypuff!"

"What's wrong, Jiggly-oh!" Kristen said. "Sarah, your backpack is glowing!"

"Glowing?!" she gasped. "The egg!" She took off her bag, and the three friends sat in a circle around it. Sarah pulled out the incubator. The blue egg was oscillating brightness. "Do I take it out?" she asked.

"I would," said Harold. "If I were a Pokemon, I wouldn't want to be stuck in a glass cylinder when I hatched."

Sarah carefully removed the egg and cradled it in her lap. When she did, it started shining intensely before transforming into a...

"What is it?" Kristen asked.

"It's...a Sneasel!" Harold said.

"Sneasel?" said the Pokemon. "Sneasel!"

"Wow! It's so cool!" Sarah cried. "I have a Sneasel!"

"Sneasel Sneasel!" the Sneasel said, raising its arms in celebration. One of its claws stuck Sarah in the face, leaving a red mark.

"Ow," said Sarah. Sneasel hung its head in shame, and Sarah scratched it behind the ears. "That's okay, Sneasel. We'll just be more careful next time!"

"Sneasel," agreed the Pokemon.

* * *

Lorelei released Lapras into the Vermilion bay. A crowd of admirers gathered to watch her sail away on her iconic partner Pokemon. At the head of the crowd were three unassuming kids: a boy with shaggy brown hair, a girl with a Jigglypuff on her shoulder, and a girl holding a Sneasel. Sarah held the Sneasel up over her head, and Lorelei waved to them. She then took a Poke Ball off her belt and released Snorunt. Snorunt looked around at her surroundings unsure, then smiled when she saw the kids.

"Goodbye, Snorunt!" they called.

"Snowwwww!"


End file.
